Activists hired PIs to track Yair Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s son Yair is being surveilled by private investigators hired by left-wing activists, Channel 14 reported on Sunday.

Yair Netanyahu has been traveling abroad for the past few months and as a member of the prime minister’s family is assigned a security detail. However, according to the report that hasn’t prevented his monitoring.

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), which is the organization tasked with protecting the prime minister’s son, told Channel 14 that “the incident is recognized and [being] handled by the security forces.”

According to the report, the private investigators were hired by elements of the protest movement against the government’s judicial reform initiative.

Examples cited in the report include an incident in Puerto Rico a few months ago, in which a private investigator twice attempted to rent a room in the resort where Yair Netanyahu was staying. The PI tried to rent the room in the name of a person involved in the anti-reform protests but was initially denied as his credit details did not match the name. He came back the next day with the correct details.

In another incident, at Miami Beach, Yair Netanyahu’s security guards noticed someone taking pictures of him and approached the individual, who was identified as a private investigator.

Political officials familiar with the situation told Channel 14 that the Shin Bet was not doing enough to investigate who is behind this phenomenon or prevent it from occurring.

Meanwhile, protest organizers announced that they will demonstrate during the Netanyahu couple’s vacation this week in northern Israel.

Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are staying at the Panda Hotel in Neve Ativ.

“From Monday to Wednesday we are going on vacation with Bibi and Sara,” the announcement said. “We are all joining the party, registration has opened.”

Protesters also harassed Minister for the Advancement of Women’s Status May Golan at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Monday. She was sitting at a restaurant with her mother when the activists accosted her and a heated exchange took place.

“To what other depths of decay will those anarchists sink?” the minister tweeted after the confrontation. “To verbally and physically attack my 76-year-old mother is completely out of bounds, so I had to protect her with my body.

“The only consolation from this shameful incident is the applause I received from dozens of passengers who watched what was happening and were also shocked and encouraged me to continue sitting where my mother and I were eating. No one will disturb my professional and personal routine.”

“I have one message for all the anarchists,” Golan added: “Move on. This reform will continue to advance even more vigorously and no violent protest or particularly ugly personal attack will help you.”