Media Leaks and Qatargate: Former Netanyahu Aide Eli Feldstein Spills the Beans
Fresh scandal engulfs the Prime Minister's Office.
Shortly after the start of the 8pm nightly newscast on Tuesday, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett began an extraordinary news conference.
We are accustomed to a sitting Prime Minister cutting into the airwaves during the 8 p.m. newscast, when most Israelis are watching. It’s always struck me as being a little junta-like, commandeering a broadcast. But it is practical. In a nation constantly on high alert it’s an efficient way of ensuring that your message gets out.
More unusual is for a former PM with no current public role – aside from having established a political party and announced his intention to run in the next election – to organize such a press conference. Bold.
And on Tuesday night, Bennett delivered a very bold message.
He said that an ongoing scandal – dubbed Qatargate in Israel – is the “most serious act of treason in Israeli history.”
Yes. You read that correctly. And he called on Netanyahu to resign. Immediately. Bennett stopped short of stating that the Prime Minister was directly involved in the shady operations alleged to have been directed by his senior staff. But the extreme nature of the allegations, Bennett says, is more than enough to warrant Netanyahu’s resignation resignation.
There are two “events” being investigated.
Eli Feldstein - a former senior aide in the PMO - is the primary suspect in the "Bild” case, which alleges that a classified document was leaked to the German newspaper Bild after the IDF military censor ruled that it could not be published in Israel. Feldstein admits to having leaked the document, with the explicit knowledge and approval of Jonathan Urich and Srulik Einhorn, also senior aides to Netanyahu. (Urich actually worked in the PMO in Israel. Einhorn resides in Belgrade but is reported to be in regular, direct contact with both Netanyahu and Urich on matters of state.) The allegations are that this group conspired to leak highly sensitive documents to the foreign press in order to bolster Netanyahu’s preferred “narrative” regarding Hamas, hostages and so much more. (Some may have been “doctored.”) It is further alleged that these gentlemen engaged in a subsequent cover-up.
The second case - Qatargate -appears to involve Urich and Einhorn, as well as others in the U.S.and Israel. While working in Netanyahu’s office, these men were alleged to have been engaged by Qatar to burnish the country’s reputation in Israel and elsewhere. Meaning that during the war, top prime ministerial aides were alleged to have been retained and paid by Qatar. Aside from the ethical black hole in which these men seem to operate, these acts, if substantiated, constitute significant national security risks.
Feldstein has been indicted in Bild and awaits criminal trial. Urich has been indicted in Bild and Qatargate.
And in what can only be a Hail Mary pass, Feldstein gave a bombshell interview to Israel’s channel 13, which was aired over three nights earlier this week. Part III was broadcast on Wednesday night.
Naftali Bennett’s sharp address was delivered on Tuesday night, pre-empting the broadcast of Part II.
He expressed horror that such nefarious conduct could take place in the holiest “inner sanctum” of the State of Israel. The Office of the Prime Minister. And if true, he is correct.
In the first episode we met Eli Feldstein, a 33-year-old man who is the center of a scandal that is shaking Israel to its core. And that’s saying a lot.
Feldstein grew up ultra-orthodox in Bnei Brak, a city of 220,000 plus on the edge of Tel Aviv. It is where the haredi ”aristocracy” lives, shops, assembles- even more so than Jerusalem. When brides shop for the most fashionable wedding dress – they hit the streets of Bnei Brak. Top haredi political leadership? Live in Bnei Brak. If it was New York, it would be the upper East Side meets Five Towns. Toronto? A religious version of Forest Hill…Bathurst and Glencairn. London? Hampstead with a splash of Golder’s Green.
On October 27, 2024, Eli Feldstein was arrested in the middle of the night by the Shin Bet security service and held in custody for several months. For an extended period he was denied access to legal counsel and not allowed to make any calls. Not even to his family. Since April, 2025, Feldstein has been under house arrest.
Eli Feldstein has been charged with transferring and holding classified information and “obstruction of justice. He is further alleged to have worked very closely with Jonathan Urich, who was constantly by Netanyahu’s side. Literally whispering in his ear. In the cabinet room. In his private office.
In late October 2024, when news of Feldstein’s arrest broke, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that he had no idea who Feldstein was but asserted that he was not employed by his office. This - in spite of the fact that Feldstein is documented, photographically, in video and more - to have been by Netanyahu’s side for much of the previous year.
Shortly after, Netanyahu suddenly remembered Feldstein, hailing him as a Zionist, patriot, officer in the IDF. A good man.
If convicted, Feldstein faces life in prison.
There was a time, not long ago, when the personal aides in the PMO were grown-ups. Mature, professional adults with experience and judgement. Not all, but many. That has changed in the last decade. And it shows.
Feldstein presents as being ferociously (and understandably) angry. He has also clearly decided that he’s going to burn the house down and take them all with him. He will not be anyone’s doormat. The allegations he made in his lengthy interview are thermonuclear.
And keep in mind – this is a man who still faces a full criminal trial on multiple indictments. If I was his lawyer, I’d be permanently fetal at this point. If there is a trial – he’s cooked. A school kid could destroy him on cross-examination based on his comments to date. Feldstein is sending a message to Netanyahu, his cabinet secretary, Tsachi Braverman, Jonathan Urich and others.
“You set me up as your fall guy. You squashed me like a bug. Well. I’m not sitting back and taking it. If I go down, you all come with me.”
After the first interview aired on Monday night, Naftali Bennett declared: “Treason. Resign.” He had heard enough.
The rest of this article is available to premium subscribers of State of Tel Aviv and Beyond. If you would like to continue reading, please subscribe by clicking the link here. Until December 31 we are offering a special subscription rate of USD $45 for one year, 25% lower than usual.
If you prefer, you can support our work at Buy Me a Coffee. Click here.
Any contribution over USD $60 entitles you to a one year subscription.
