- Former Netanyahu aide alleges the PM's immediate post-October 7 focus was evading personal blame.
- He claims his primary task was to erase the concept of Netanyahu's responsibility from public discourse.
- The aide further accuses Netanyahu of orchestrating a leak of classified military intelligence to foreign media.
- He states the leak aimed to manipulate public sentiment during hostage deal protests.
- Netanyahu's office denies all allegations, calling them mendacious and self-serving.
A former top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has leveled explosive accusations, claiming that in the immediate, panicked aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks, Netanyahu’s primary concern was not national unity or security strategy, but a frantic effort to dodge personal responsibility for the catastrophic intelligence failure. The aide further alleges the prime minister was directly involved in a scheme to leak classified military intelligence to foreign media to manipulate public sentiment.
The claims come from Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman for Netanyahu, during an extensive interview with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster. Feldstein, who now faces criminal charges for leaking classified information, painted a picture of a leader consumed by political survival from the moment the scale of the attack became clear. He described Netanyahu as appearing "panicked" in those first days.
A mission to erase responsibility
Feldstein stated that his first major assignment after the attacks was not related to crisis communications for a grieving nation, but to insulate the prime minister. “He asked me, ‘What are they talking about in the news? Are they still talking about responsibility?’” Feldstein recounted. “He wanted me to think of something that could be said that would offset the media storm surrounding the question of whether the prime minister had taken responsibility or not.”
Feldstein said the directive was explicit. “The first and biggest task that I had after October 7 was erasing the concept of [Netanyahu’s] responsibility from the public discourse.” He added that associates close to Netanyahu instructed him to simply remove the word "responsibility" from any statements. “They told me to take the word 'responsibility' out of the lexicon,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s Office swiftly dismissed the allegations. In a statement, it called Feldstein’s interview a "long series of mendacious and recycled allegations made by a man with clear personal interests who is trying to deflect responsibility from himself."
Orchestrating a leak
The accusations extend beyond the initial response to October 7. Feldstein is a central figure in the so-called "Bibileaks" scandal, where a classified Israeli Defense Forces document detailing Hamas hostage strategy was leaked to the German tabloid Bild in 2024. The leak occurred amid intense domestic protests pressuring the government to secure a hostage deal, and the document was used to suggest Hamas was manipulating the protest movement.
Feldstein now claims the leak was done with Netanyahu’s full knowledge and approval. “To put out such a document, the prime minister needs to be in the picture – from beginning to end,” Feldstein asserted. “He is the one who ultimately stood behind the leak.” He said the document was funneled to a foreign outlet specifically to bypass Israel’s strict military censorship.
According to Feldstein, after the story was published, he received a WhatsApp message from another senior Netanyahu adviser, Yonatan Urich, stating, “Take your time, the boss is happy.” Feldstein said he later discussed the leak directly with Netanyahu. “In the conversation, the prime minister thanked me for the publication and said it was very important,” he told Kan.
When pressed on how much Netanyahu knew, Feldstein was unequivocal: “He knew everything.”
Netanyahu’s office has repeatedly denied any involvement by the prime minister in the leak. In response to these latest claims, the office reiterated that Netanyahu “never ordered the leak, did not approve bypassing censorship, was not involved in any illegal act, and had no connection to the leak.”
These allegations strike at the heart of the political turmoil that has engulfed Israel since October 7. For many Israelis, the government’s failure to prevent the massacre remains an open wound, and the prospect that their leader’s first instinct was self-preservation is deeply corrosive. The separate leak scandal suggests a willingness to use highly sensitive intelligence, potentially jeopardizing sources and methods, for domestic political gain.
The picture Feldstein draws is one of a leadership prioritizing narrative control over accountability and national security over transparency. Whether these claims are the bitter words of a former aide facing prosecution or a credible revelation of misconduct at the highest level, they underscore the profound crisis of confidence that continues to define Israeli politics long after the sirens of October 7 fell silent. In a conflict where information is a key battlefield, the most damning accusations are now coming from inside the former prime minister’s own house.
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