Committee Decides: Eisenkot to Receive Shin Bet Protection; Golan's Case to Be Reviewed Later

The Advisory Committee for the Protection of Public Figures has decided that the Prime Minister candidate and chairman of the 'Yashar!' party will receive state protection until election day.

The discussion followed findings presented by party staff to security officials, marking a shift from the previous controversial decision not to provide security to the 'Yashar!' chairman. It was also determined that the committee will convene separately to discuss assigning security to 'Democrats' chairman Yair Golan.

The committee recommended assigning special and continuous security to Gadi Eisenkot following new warnings and data submitted to security officials.

This recommendation marks a sharp turn from the decision made a week earlier, when Shin Bet head David Zini determined not to assign bodyguards to Eisenkot. Zini had reasoned that the service lacked intelligence or concrete warnings of an intent to harm him, emphasizing that he made the decision after consultations that included Central Elections Committee chairman, Judge Noam Sohlberg.

Zini's decision led to direct intervention by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who instructed the Shin Bet head to ensure Eisenkot receives appropriate security. Now, based on updated findings, the committee has re-examined whether the threat level justifies changing security arrangements ahead of the polls.

"Death wishes and execution"

At the center of Sunday's discussion were materials submitted by both parties.

The 'Yashar!' party claimed that Eisenkot is currently protected only by a private, unarmed security company, funded by the party, without access to the intelligence information necessary to assess threats.

In a letter signed by field headquarters chief Ron Barkai, it was noted that this was a second appeal after the previous one received no response from the Shin Bet. It included a threat published on the X network stating:

"The punishment is on the way for every traitor, his days are numbered."

From the 'Democrats' side, CEO Omer Luboton Granot appealed to Judge Sohlberg, claiming that a "personal and party incitement campaign" has been conducted against Golan for months, including death wishes and calls to put him before a firing squad.

The appeal included social media posts from July and August containing explicit calls to harm his life and threats against his family. The party emphasized that Golan was the only chairman whose name appeared explicitly as a target in a threat letter attached to a brick thrown at the Channel 12 News studios, and compared the current atmosphere to the incitement campaign that preceded the Rabin assassination.