The State Attorney's Office has filed an indictment at the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court against Raz Weinberger, 49, from Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh, accusing him of publishing posts on X inciting the murder of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, elected officials from the governing coalition and supporters of the prime minister and his government. Prosecutors are seeking to keep Weinberger in custody until the conclusion of legal proceedings against him.
The indictment, filed by attorney Maya Nitzan of the State Attorney's Office Cyber Department, charges Weinberger with 10 counts of incitement to terrorism and 18 counts of incitement to violence. According to the indictment, over approximately six weeks leading up to Israel's 26th Knesset elections, Weinberger published 21 inflammatory posts on his public X account.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Shalev Shalom)
Among other statements, Weinberger allegedly wrote in response to posts on the prime minister's account: "Benjamin Netanyahu, the greatest traitor in the country's history, deserves death," and "Damned traitor, your very existence should be erased. You should be burned alive along with your psychotic partner and her two sons." He also allegedly responded to a post by lawmaker Almog Cohen, writing: "Your parents should watch as your head is cut off and thrown to Gazans to play soccer with."
In the accompanying detention request, the Cyber Department argued that the systematic and repeated nature of Weinberger's posts, their number and their inflammatory and violent content, particularly against the backdrop of heightened sensitivity and tensions ahead of the elections, demonstrate the danger he poses to the public.
Prosecutors argued that these were not isolated statements or remarks made in the heat of the moment, but a series of posts in which Weinberger repeatedly called for violence against elected officials and anyone whose views differed from his own. They added that until recently, Weinberger had possessed a weapon, heightening concerns that he might personally carry out the acts of violence he had advocated.