Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has dismissed his spokesperson, Omer Dostri, just as he prepares to travel to Washington for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
Reports of Dostri’s termination first surfaced Saturday from sources close to the prime minister. Later that evening, the Prime Minister’s Office officially confirmed the move, though their version claimed Dostri had chosen to resign. “Informed the prime minister of his intention to end his role and embark on a new path,” the statement read.
Channel 13 reported that Dostri, who had been serving in the position for the past year, had clashed with Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife, which ultimately contributed to his immediate departure. Another insider told The Times of Israel that Sara Netanyahu’s attitude toward Dostri played a significant part in the decision.
Still, Netanyahu’s office pushed back strongly on that claim in a Sunday statement. “The decision to terminate his employment was made in coordination between the prime minister, his chief of staff, and Dostri,” the statement read. “The media is quick to turn Mrs. Netanyahu into its punching bag whenever it can.”
The Times of Israel also cited sources who said that Dostri’s likely successor, Ziv Agmon, has a particularly close relationship with Sara Netanyahu.
However, associates of Netanyahu told Ynet that the firing stemmed not from family dynamics, but from dissatisfaction with Dostri’s performance. “This was a bad fit,” the sources said. “He didn’t have experience. He had never been in this profession. He was essentially pushed out. He was told this wasn’t working. Two days ago, he was informed he wouldn’t be traveling to Washington. It wasn’t connected to Sara. The prime minister was unsatisfied with him.”
According to Ynet, Agmon—who was born in the United States—is also closely aligned with Tzachi Braverman, Netanyahu’s chief of staff. Channel 12 highlighted Agmon’s close ties to Sara Netanyahu as well.
Other individuals familiar with the situation told Ynet unequivocally: “Dostri was unequivocally fired by Netanyahu,” again insisting that the matter was not related to his dealings with the prime minister’s wife.
Back in February, several Hebrew media outlets reported that Netanyahu had frequently scolded Dostri for his behavior on the job.
One particularly serious lapse occurred in October, during an Israeli military operation against Iran. Dostri shared uncensored photographs of Netanyahu at a military base, breaching IDF censorship rules and inadvertently exposing sensitive details to the press.
Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, reported that another issue was the criticism Netanyahu received for remaining in Washington during the return of hostages from Gaza, many of whom were found to be in poor condition—an event that reflected poorly on his leadership.
Kan also referenced a communications error during the February ceasefire, when the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement suggesting that Israel had deemed a proposed hostage list from Hamas “acceptable.” That phrase was later corrected to say Israel had merely “received” the list. “Instead of the writing ‘this list is acceptable to Israel,’ it should have read ‘this list was received by Israel,’” the correction explained, noting that the Hebrew root of both words is identical. “This is a purely factual description that does not reflect any reference by Israel to the issue,” the revised statement continued.
Despite the internal tensions and public missteps, the Prime Minister’s Office offered a gracious farewell in its statement, commending Dostri for his service “during one of the most turbulent and complex years… amid a multi-front war.” The office added that Netanyahu “thanked Dostri for his principled, dedicated, and professional work… in one of the most challenging and complex periods Israel has ever known.”
Dostri, for his part, reflected positively on his experience. According to the PMO, he said he “had the opportunity to see up close how the prime minister makes fateful decisions for Israel and the entire Jewish people,” and expressed his belief that Netanyahu “will continue to steer Israel safely toward a bright future.”
Before serving as Netanyahu’s spokesperson, Dostri earned a doctorate in international relations and worked as a researcher at two right-leaning think tanks—the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and Israel’s Defense and Security Forum. He also contributed opinion pieces to various Israeli publications.
{Matzav.com}
