Former Netanyahu family spokesperson and Likud’s 2019 election campaign manager, Ofer Golan, had an indictment filed against him by State Attorney Amit Aisman on Tuesday.

The attorney’s office filed an indictment with the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court against Golan, Yonatan Urich, who served as a strategic adviser and creative director at the Likud’s election headquarters, and Israel Einhorn, who served as the party’s spokesman.

The three were indicted for reportedly harassing Shlomo (Momo) Filber, the state’s witness in the trial cases against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In 2018-2019, a police investigation was conducted, in which Netanyahu was also questioned in the “Case 4000” affair. As part of this investigation, Filber, who was also the former director-general of the Communications Ministry, served as a state witness.

Shlomo Filber, former director general of Communications Ministry at the trial against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the District Court in Jerusalem on June 29, 2022. (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
Shlomo Filber, former director general of Communications Ministry at the trial against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the District Court in Jerusalem on June 29, 2022. (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)

What did the three plan?

According to the indictment, in August 2019, the three defendants conspired to harass Filber regarding the testimony he gave during the investigation and was to give at the prime minister’s trial.
The three rented a car with a sound system and sent two messengers to Filber’s house in Petah Tikva, who parked the car under the house and played the audio file prepared for them by the defendants: “Momo, be a man, come out and tell the truth. What did they do to you that made you lie against the prime minister? What did they promise you, Momo? The Left is using you to bring down the Likud. Momo, listen to what you said before the police pressured you.”
Golan and Urich issued an official response to the indictment, saying: “After six years of legal torture, after the accompanying senior attorney Dr. Chaim Wismonsky decided to close the case after Filber himself informed the prosecutor’s office in writing that he was not harassed and that he was not interested in the proceedings, and after the High Court of Justice has already ruled that the police, accompanied by the prosecutor’s office, carried out illegal actions and that the evidence is invalid – State Attorney Aisman has the audacity to file this two-paragraph indictment.
“If they want war, they will get war. We’ll meet in court.”

Avraham Bloch and Bini Ashkenazi contributed to this report.