The Seventh Eye investigation reveals that the practice of distributing retouched photos of the Prime Minister's wife on the Government Press Office (GPO) website and on the Prime Minister's Office website began almost three years ago.

The GPO is a non-partisan government agency that is supposed to serve the needs of the state and not those of the prime minister and his family, and defines its photo archive as "a photographed history book of the State of Israel." Publishing fabricated photos violates the bureau's rules and its professional code of ethics and that of government spokespeople.

Until September 2025, there were periodic distributions of altered photos: in June and September 2023, with July 2025 being another time a fake photo could be found on the GPO website. Altered photos of Sara Netanyahu were published on the Prime Minister's Office website in June and October 2023, and after that only in February and August 2025.

It is possible that the hiatus in sending the altered photos occurred because of the October 7 massacre and the war that broke out in its wake. In retrospect, it can also be seen that before the fake photos became a regular occurrence, Netanyahu's image was retouched at events where she appeared alongside another leader's wife: Olena Zelenska, Melania Trump, and Dr. Jill Biden.

The way the distributions were concentrated can also indicate a struggle that took place behind the scenes, as the press office tried to maintain the integrity of the office and the photographers and to uphold ethical and professional codes. For a long time, the press office published images of Sara Netanyahu photographed from a great distance. Other times, her name appeared in the text of the official announcements, but her image was absent from the photographs that were distributed along with them.

The director of the press office for the past 13 years, until January of this year, was Nitzan Chen. The Seventh Eye reached out to Chen for comment, but he declined to respond

The earliest date we found fake photos of Sara Netanyahu on the GPO website is June 22, 2023. As part of the record of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Israel, a retouched photo of the Israeli Prime Minister's wife alongside the Ukrainian President's wife was published.

A retouched photo of Sara Netanyahu with Olena Zelenska, the wife of the President of Ukraine, June 21, 2023 (Photo: Oz Shechter / GPO)

The Ukrainian President's Office published authentic photos from the same event, which only emphasized the extensive processing that Sara Netanyahu's image underwent in the photo published by the GPO. Another retouched photo of Sara Netanyahu from the same event was published a day earlier by the Prime Minister's Office.

On September 26, 2023, another photo of Sara Netanyahu was published by the GPO, this time with Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of the then U.S. President. This photo also raises suspicions that it was edited or photographed using a filter.

Sara Netanyahu (left) and Jill Biden, 20.9.23 (Photo: Ohad Kab)

We found another unique example on the Prime Minister's Office website on October 3, 2023, when a photo of the Netanyahu couple was uploaded under the headline "Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife toured the north of the country," in which it can be seen that Sara's image is retouched and appears younger than her age.

The retouched image of Sara Netanyahu in a photo distributed by the Prime Minister's Office on October 3, 2023 (Photo: Kobi Alkotsar / GPO)

On February 27, 2025, the Prime Minister's Office published a photo of the Netanyahu couple meeting with Keith Siegel, the hostage who was released from captivity in Gaza, his wife Aviva, and their daughter Shir. In a meeting with a survivor of Hamas captivity, Netanyahu's office also found it important to retouch the face of the Prime Minister's wife.

Sara Netanyahu (center), at the Netanyahus' meeting with captivity survivor Keith Siegel, his wife Aviva and their daughter Shir, Prime Minister's Office, 27.2.25 (Photo: Maayan Toaf, GPO)

On July 8, 2025, the GPO emailed editors and reporters a set of photos from the Prime Minister and his wife's visit to the United States. The image of Sara Netanyahu, wearing a green suit, was retouched. On August 5, 2025, the Prime Minister's Office published another fake photo as part of documenting a meeting with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.

A retouched photo of Sara Netanyahu distributed by the GPO to editors and reporters - 8.7.2025 (Original photo: Avi Ohayon / GPO)

Starting in September 2025, the distribution of altered photos became routine. On December 30, 2025, apparently in response to complaints from GPO photographers, the bizarre practice began of adding a photo credit to the altered photos for the person photographed: Sara Netanyahu. The documented event: a meeting with the parents of the kidnapped pilot, the late Master sergeant Ran Gvili. GPO published photos of Sara Netanyahu from the visit with her image retouched.

Five days later, on January 4 of this year, a set of photos of the Prime Minister and his wife along with President Donald Trump and his wife was published on the GPO website, with Sarah's image retouched and the photo credit reading "Photo: Spokesperson for the Prime Minister." A week later, it was published that Nitzan Chen had left his position and was appointed spokesman for the Jerusalem Municipality.

"Cult of Personality"

In January of this year, as part of the launch of the "Free Press Index in Israel — On the Brink of Collapse" report by "The Seventh Eye," Amit Schejter, professor of communications at Ben-Gurion University, chairman of the Association for Civil Rights and one of the most prominent media researchers in Israel, addressed the phenomenon of distributing false photos of the Prime Minister's wife by official Israeli government bodies.

According to Schejter, this is one of the most significant events that occurred in the Israeli media industry in 2025 because "there was once talk about the era of post-truth — this is already far beyond post-truth. This is an event that changes the entire relationship between the press and the regime, all the give and take that exists between them."

As published in "The Seventh Eye," even after the first time Netanyahu's office began distributing altered photos by GPO photographers, in September 2025, Attorney Eitay Mack sent a letter to GPO, demanding that the original photo be published.

"The massive renovation of the image harms the credibility of the GPO and the public's trust in it," Mack wrote, adding: "The distribution of images of this type characterizes undemocratic regimes in Central Asia, Latin America, and Africa — where a cult of personality is promoted and an ongoing attempt is made to disguise the health and functional status of the leaders and their family members, and in particular there is a phenomenon of denial of aging."

This article was published in Hebrew on March 24, 2026
Translation: Harriet Brown