Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday lashed out at Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara's decision to recommend charging his close advisor, Yonatan Urich, for the leak of sensitive documents to the German tabloid Bild.
"The decision to prosecute Urich is disastrous and raises questions,” Netanyahu said. “A disgraceful statement from the attorney-general. I know the details, and I say, he did not harm national security."
Dozens of people have worked in Netanyahu’s office over the cumulative 17 years he has served as prime minister. Advisors have come and gone. Some became state witnesses, including Nir Hefetz, Ari Harow, and Shlomo Filber (who signed as a state witness and later regretted it). Those who were not involved left the office in anger, but only a few left intact, without being indicted or harboring hard feelings.
But of all those who came and went, Netanyahu, a man devoid of emotion, who believed that everyone was born to serve him, truly loved and valued only two: Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Yonatan Urich.
“Urich and Dermer are like the sons Netanyahu wanted to have,” said a source who worked in the Prime Minister's Office for many years.
"He is a man who distrusts everyone and is paranoid that everyone wants to bring him down. But he trusts these two almost completely. They were exposed to nearly everything—they knew the secrets, the schemes, everything. Urich was aware of every political and media move. He was intimately familiar with every campaign, both official and unofficial, as well as every vendetta. Dermer is the de facto foreign minister, liaison to the US administration, and someone Netanyahu completely trusts on the most sensitive political and military matters."
But as the cliché goes, Netanyahu is like the sun: when you get too close, you burn.
Urich began working with Netanyahu in 2015. Yoav Ben-Tzur, who worked with Netanyahu at the time, convinced him to join after Topaz Luk, who knew Urich from their service in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, recommended him. His skills quickly became apparent: a digital expert, Urich opened Netanyahu's eyes to the world of social networks. He charmed Netanyahu by giving him the ability to engage directly with the public on Facebook and later on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, without having to use the media, which Netanyahu despised, as an intermediary.
Urich is a very talented man: creative, sharp, and up-to-date. However, he is also unrestrained. He doesn’t see limitations. He initiated and navigated harsh campaigns against political rivals, with no red lines. Ask Benny Gantz: he could write a series of books about the nightmare he went through, especially during election periods when he was a real threat to Netanyahu’s rule; the prime minister’s propaganda machine - with Urich playing a central role - attacked Gantz, even below the belt.
Yonatan Urich's involvement in Netanyahu's affairs
Urich’s entanglement didn’t begin yesterday, with the potential indictment for the leak to the Bild. It started much earlier. On February 11, 2025, the prosecution decided to indict Urich, Ofer Golan, and Srulik Einhorn for harassing Shlomo Filber, the state witness in Cases 1000, 2000, and 4000.
According to the indictment, in 2019, the three conspired to harass Filber regarding his testimony in Case 4000. They rented a car with a loudspeaker system and sent two of their people to Filber’s home, where they were heard shouting things like: “Momo, be a man, go and tell the truth! What did they do to you to get you to go against the prime minister? What did they promise you? The left is using you to bring down Likud!” and more.
This, as mentioned, was Urish’s first noted involvement. The second came last night.
In a statement from the attorney-general's office, it was stated that “the State Prosecutor’s Office informed Yonatan Urich, the Prime Minister's close advisor, that the Attorney-General and State Prosecutor are considering indicting him for criminal charges, subject to a hearing, in the ‘Bild’ case on the grounds of security violations, including leaking classified information with intent to harm national security, possessing classified information, and destroying evidence.”
“According to the allegations," continued the statement, "Urich, together with Eli Feldstein, took highly classified information from the IDF’s systems that, if exposed by Urich, could have endangered national security and lives. The release of the classified information was intended, among other things, to influence public perception of the prime minister and skew the discourse regarding the murder of six hostages in August 2024.”
Minutes after the statement, Urich's attorneys, Amit Hadad and Noa Milstein, responded: “Yonatan Urich denies all allegations against him. He never possessed or leaked classified information and certainly did not harm national security. This is an absurd set of allegations arriving at an inconvenient time, and his innocence will be proven beyond any doubt.”
However, the third, most severe case for Urich is still pending: the Qatargate case.
Urich is suspected of receiving payment from a Qatar-funded company to act from within the Prime Minister’s Office in order to advance Qatar’s interests, such as portraying it as a peace-seeking and dominant country, in contrast to Egypt.
According to a Haaretz exposé, Urich worked for the Qatari government prior to the World Cup to improve its image, which had been criticized internationally for being a dictatorial state.
This is the biggest criminal case against Urich, and Netanyahu has gone to great lengths to help him.
In a video released of Netanyahu, the prime minister is seen nearly exploding with rage, saying: "The police are conducting a political campaign against him. This is a political investigation, a political move. Other than that, there’s nothing. They are trying to prevent the firing of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief. The investigation is intended to bring down a right-wing prime minister."
Urich’s detention has been extended repeatedly. He was interrogated multiple times, placed under house arrest, and then returned to detention. The investigation has been ongoing for months. Netanyahu is angry. Beyond his personal concern and the lack of media presence, Netanyahu knows something else: Urich knows everything. Urich had been close to him for years, and it was not a good idea to anger him.
To avoid angering him and to show him that he’s not alone and that he has complete backing, senior staff from the PMO were sent to the detention extensions. Everyone showed up to ensure that Urich didn’t become a state witness against the boss.
In April, Nir Hefetz, Netanyahu's former communications advisor, said: "Urich is the man who knows everything about Netanyahu. If this brick crumbles, the whole wall will collapse. Urich is a weak man, and Netanyahu knows exactly what he says to their mutual lawyer, Amit Hadad."
He added: "Qatargate is the reason for the acceleration of the judicial overhaul in recent weeks: firing Ronen Bar, the process of ousting the attorney-general, and changing the makeup of the committee for selecting judges. Netanyahu is trying to stop the Qatargate investigation, and he knows why."
And Urich? He remained silent. Recently released from house arrest, he occasionally tweeted, as usual, singing Netanyahu’s praises. He remains loyal, an admirer. From time to time, he sends media advice to the office, which is now left without him, professionally abandoned.
So, what will happen to Urich after the second indictment, pending the hearing? The answer is: nothing. It doesn’t bother Netanyahu. Urich is not a state employee; he is an independent contractor who submits invoices for his services. As long as Netanyahu remains in power, he will continue to employ him, regardless of whether there are two indictments or 10.
Law violations? Indictments? That hasn’t bothered Netanyahu in years. The only thing that matters to him is that Urich stays close, doesn’t speak against him, and most importantly, continues helping him. Because in the months he has been absent, anyone who understands communications within the office, in the surrounding environment, and in the system understands how crucial Urich was to the media activities in the most important office in the country.