An 84-year-old man from a kibbutz in the Jezreel Valley has been charged with threatening to shoot Defense Minister Israel Katz over Katz’s decision to shut down the Army Radio station, known as Galei Tzahal or Galatz.
The indictment was recently filed in the Nazareth Magistrate’s Court.
Defense Minister Israel Katz
(Photo: Yariv Katz)
According to the indictment, on Nov. 12, 2025, the same day Katz announced his decision, the defendant wrote on a Facebook account he managed: “I intend to shoot Israel Katz, the challenged and ugly man, over the stupid decision to shut down Galei Tzahal.”
Following a report about the threat, the suspect was summoned for questioning at the Migdal HaEmek police investigations office. At the conclusion of the questioning, the evidence against him was transferred to the police prosecution department.
After prosecutors reviewed the case, an indictment was filed against him on a charge of making threats.
“In the actions described above, the defendant threatened Minister Katz with unlawful bodily harm, with the intent to frighten or intimidate him,” attorney Jan Abd al-Malek of the Valleys District prosecution office wrote.
Attorney Wasim Daher, senior deputy district public defender for the Northern District, who is overseeing the defendant’s representation, said in response: “This is a completely normative defendant with no criminal record, who had never previously encountered the police. He is a law-abiding citizen who never had any intention of harming the minister. We will present our defense in court.”