As Israel approaches pivotal legislative elections, conspiracy theories have moved from the fringes to the heart of the political arena, amplified by figures close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a television channel widely seen as his mouthpiece. The 116th episode of the podcast Complorama, hosted by Rudy Reichstadt and Tristan Mendès France, examines how these narratives are shaping the campaign.
October 7 Allegations Against the Opposition
On August 31, Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife, appeared on Channel 14, a news outlet known for its backing of the government. During the broadcast, she questioned the conduct of Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats party and former deputy chief of the Israeli military, insinuating that he may have been forewarned of the October 7 attack, which killed more than 1,200 Israelis and saw over 200 taken hostage.
Reichstadt, director of Conspiracy Watch, described the attack as “one of the greatest traumas in the entire history of the State of Israel.” Sara Netanyahu expressed incredulity that a military figure of Golan’s rank would have been ready to respond so quickly when the prime minister himself had not been warned.
Reichstadt recounted Golan’s explanation: he “took the road from his home toward the south, toward the Nova festival, at around 8 a.m., roughly an hour and a half after the attack began, to take part in rescuing survivors.” Golan has announced his intention to sue Sara Netanyahu for defamation, and several Israeli political figures have condemned her remarks.
Channel 14: A Privileged Relay for Power
The choice of Channel 14 for Sara Netanyahu’s intervention was far from incidental. The channel is regularly described as highly favorable to Benjamin Netanyahu. Tristan Mendès France, a specialist in digital cultures and associate lecturer at Paris-Cité University, compared it to Fox News, the U.S. network aligned with Donald Trump.
He noted that the channel’s majority shareholder is Yitzchak Mirilashvili, an Israeli oligarch of Russian origin and co-founder of the Russian social network VKontakte.
The “Deep State” as Netanyahu’s New Designated Enemy
On October 13, in an interview with Channel 14, Benjamin Netanyahu called for a criminal investigation into those he claims were involved in the artificial construction of the legal cases against him. He denounced a “criminal setup” and said he intended to take on the “deep state.”
According to Reichstadt, the English expression is an “American import,” noting that since his first election to the U.S. presidency in 2017, “Donald Trump has used and abused this formula.” In the Israeli prime minister’s rhetoric, it refers to a supposed network of unelected actors working in the shadows to obstruct the government.
Reichstadt observed “an inversion” at work: the accused Netanyahu becomes “the victim of a conspiracy, and the justice system that tries him becomes an instrument of subversion serving interests foreign to those of the people.”
Netanyahu Advisers Suspected of Working for Romanian Party
In the final days of the election campaign, on October 21, the Romanian investigative outlet Snoop published a report based on messages attributed to two close advisers to Benjamin Netanyahu, Jonatan Urich and Yisrael Einhorn. According to the exchanges, the two men allegedly took part in the communications strategy of AUR, a Romanian nationalist party led by George Simion, who was defeated in the 2025 presidential election.
Reichstadt described AUR as “a controversial party for its positions on the memory of the Shoah.” Messages prepared by the consultants were reportedly incorporated into the party’s communications. AUR has denied collaborating with them.
The episode, “Israel: Conspiracy in Election Season,” is the 116th installment of Complorama, featuring Reichstadt, Mendès France and Noé da Silva of franceinfo.
