Jonatan Urich, a close adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, repeatedly consulted ChatGPT in September 2024, nearly a year into the Gaza war, seeking ideas to improve Qatar's public image, according to a Channel 12 report published Monday, citing excerpts from his police interrogation. The revelations have triggered fierce criticism from opposition leaders and families affected by the October 7 Hamas attack.
Urich previously claimed that he had worked for the Qatari government during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, when Netanyahu was serving as opposition leader. According to Channel 12, investigators confronted him with ChatGPT conversations from September 2024 in which he sought messaging strategies to rehabilitate Qatar's international reputation.
Jonatan Urich
(Photo: Mickey Schmidt)
One request presented during questioning read: "I am requesting additional ideas to improve the image of Qatar's prime minister and emir, as well as three key messages for the target audiences: Israeli citizens, Jewish communities around the world and opinion leaders in the United States, which could help whitewash Qatar and improve its image." When confronted with the exchanges, Urich reportedly responded: "I don't remember what I asked ChatGPT. I ask it about many different subjects."
Urich responds: ‘I did nothing with those requests’
Urich did not deny the existence of the conversations. In a post on X, he said the report had revealed only a "fragment" of an interrogation conducted a year earlier. "Everything that was published has been in the possession of numerous journalists for a long time, and they discussed it with me," he wrote. "But none of them saw fit to address my ChatGPT queries because I did nothing with them."
He maintained that this had also been established during the investigation, adding sarcastically that he had even asked ChatGPT where to urinate in a public restroom with three stalls. His response did little to contain the political fallout, with opposition figures accusing Netanyahu of continuing to protect an adviser they alleged had promoted Qatar's interests while Israel was at war.
Eisenkot: ‘A Qatari agent operated in the Prime Minister's Office’
Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff and leader of the opposition Yashar party, issued a scathing statement following the report. "A Qatari agent operated, and continues to operate, in the Prime Minister's Office, conducting psychological terror against Israeli citizens," Eisenkot alleged. "This happened while our soldiers were risking their lives on the battlefield and while our hostages were being held by Hamas terrorists funded by Qatar."
Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of allowing Urich to continue working in one of Israel's most sensitive government offices despite the allegations. "Even now, the prime minister, with his full backing, allows this dangerous individual to work in the most sensitive office in the country. It is sheer madness," he said. "A reasonable and competent prime minister would have announced Urich's immediate dismissal tonight, condemned his actions and permanently excluded him from every official forum. A reasonable prime minister. Not Netanyahu. Netanyahu has corrupted the institutions of the state. This rot is costing us lives."
Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the opposition Yisrael Beytenu party, also condemned the affair, linking it directly to Israel's upcoming October 27 election. "On October 27, we will remove the Qatari office in Jerusalem from power, establish a state commission of inquiry to expose all the failures of the government responsible for the October massacre, and demand an investigation into the Prime Minister's Office for treason against the State of Israel during wartime," Lieberman wrote.
Hostage's mother: ‘There can be no forgiveness for this betrayal’
The report also prompted an emotional response from Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, who was held captive by Hamas in Gaza. "While he was running campaigns for Qatar, my Matan was rotting in the tunnels in Gaza. He went through things I don't even dare describe to you," she wrote on X.
"While our girls are still in captivity, and our soldiers are fighting Nukhba terrorists funded by Qatar, this scumbag is sitting there preparing a campaign for Qatar, the financier of the massacre, directly from the Prime Minister's Office," she continued. "There is no forgiveness, and there never will be, for this betrayal."
Shir Matias, whose parents Shahar and Shlomi were murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Holit on October 7, 2023, also accused Netanyahu of shielding his adviser. "Contrary to the lie that the prime minister's closest adviser worked for the Qataris around the World Cup, it turns out his mission was to whitewash those who financed my parents' murderers. After October 7," she wrote.
She then addressed Netanyahu directly: "Prime Minister Netanyahu, why are you silent? Why do you continue to back him? Isn't my parents' blood red enough?"