A man was convicted on Wednesday of harassment over a tweet threatening to sexually assault the prime minister’s wife, Sarah Netanyahu.
Boaz Drori, 56, a resident of the central city of Givatayim, was sentenced by the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court to pay a fine of NIS 800 ($230) to Netanyahu and serve a two-month suspended prison sentence as part of a plea. deal.
In 2019, Drori, who had nearly 1,000 followers on Twitter, described a sexual act he would perform because he was “so patriotic”, effectively threatening to rape the prime minister’s wife for the sake of the nation.
Prosecutors said Wednesday that Drori’s words “should not be taken lightly.”
“The accused chose to comment on the platform by addressing the complainant with derogatory and derogatory expressions about her sexuality. The said publication was made public. In today’s reality, platforms are characterized by accessibility and we as a society should not allow objectionable announcements on these platforms,” the prosecution said.
Drory’s attorney stated that his client was remorseful for his actions, and did not wish to argue the case to avoid a “media circus”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara leave for a visit to Paris, February 2, 2023. (Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made several complaints to the police regarding threats of harm to him and his family.
On Saturday, the Shin Bet’s internal security agency issued a statement saying it happened Identified An “increase in violent and inciting discourse against elected officials in general and the prime minister in particular.”
Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said on Saturday that his force would adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to social media posts calling for violence against public figures in light of rising incidents of “incitement, harm and threats”.
Shabtai said he would make sure “that in a democratic country the police will not deprive anyone of their freedom of protest, but at the same time we will not allow violent, inciting and threatening discourse.”
