Eyal Golan: The Singer, the Sexual Misconduct Cases, the Tax Conviction, and the Pattern of Renewed Investigations

Eyal Golan (born Eyal Biton, April 12, 1971, Rehovot, Israel) is one of Israel's biggest singers and the senior figure in Mizrahi pop. He has released thirty studio albums across a thirty-year career, hosts the reality-television competition Eyal Golan is Calling You, and sells out stadiums across Israel and the European diaspora. He has also been the subject of three separate criminal investigations in connection with sexual offenses against underage girls and women, a 2014 tax evasion conviction that closed the United States market to him, and continuing institutional scrutiny of the original 2013 police investigation.

Golan is one of Israel's most beloved commercial artists. He has been named Singer of the Decade and Singer of the Year multiple times, and has hosted and led the Mizrahi-vocal reality competition Eyal Golan is Calling You since 2011. His March 2025 GOLD concert series at Bloomfield Stadium sold more than 30,000 tickets in under an hour for the first show alone. His May 2025 concert at the Dôme de Paris ran under heavy security after French far-left politicians called for a ban and the prefecture declined to intervene; the concert ran as scheduled. Am Yisrael Chai is the framing of his stadium nights. His Israeli and European diaspora touring continues at sustained scale.

His father, Dani Biton, served two years in prison after being convicted of soliciting minors for prostitution in connection with the 2013 case; Biton died of COVID-19 in 2021. Golan has consistently denied all sexual offense allegations and has not been charged in any of them. The picture is one of the most extensively documented legal records of any senior figure in Israeli music.

The 2013 case

On November 13, 2013, Channel 2 News (now Channel 12) reported that Israeli police had been investigating two prominent Israeli entertainers for three months on suspicion of sexual encounters with underage girls. An Israeli court gag order initially prevented publication of the singers' names. The gag order was lifted on November 20, and Israeli press confirmed Golan as the singer at the center of the case.

Golan was interrogated by police on November 20, 2013, along with his father Dani Biton, a Tel Aviv concert promoter, the manager of a national radio station, and Tzahi Asulin, an employee of Golan's production company. Per testimony collected by investigators at the time and subsequently reported in Israeli press: people connected to the production operation would identify underage girls during Golan's performances and bring them to rented rooms for evenings involving sexual intercourse, drug use, and expensive gifts. The original police complaint had come from a 15-year-old girl who said she had sexual relations with Golan on more than one occasion. Police interviewed at least five girls in connection with the case; two confirmed having sex with the accused singer.

Golan was released to house arrest on November 20 after 15 hours of questioning. Tel Aviv District Court Judge Sharon Melamed, ordering further detention for Biton and Asulin, said publicly that there was "evidence naive teenage girls who wanted to touch the glamour surrounding singer Eyal Golan were exploited by his father and associates for sexual favors." In February 2014, the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office closed the case against Golan for lack of sufficient evidence. Golan has consistently denied knowing the girls were underage. He took a leave of absence from Eyal Golan is Calling You during the investigation; the show subsequently returned for additional seasons.

In 2015, Golan's father Dani Biton was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of soliciting minors for prostitution and obstruction of justice. The conviction included findings that Biton paid underage girls and gave them gifts in exchange for sex and that he used his son's fame to identify and approach girls in socioeconomic hardship. Biton died of COVID-19 in 2021.

The 2019 Haaretz exposé

In September 2019, Haaretz published an investigative review of the closed case file based on documents obtained from the investigation. The Haaretz reporting characterized the documented pattern as one in which Golan and his associates "passed groupies from hand to hand like sexual merchandise." The Haaretz review also identified what it described as failures in the police investigation that led to the case's closure in 2014. The published documents included testimony from Golan, his father, and several friends, alongside testimony from teenage girls who had been questioned at the time — two of whom were under 16.

Despite the renewed press attention, the 2019 reporting did not result in renewed legal proceedings against Golan personally. The case remained closed.

The 2022 reopening

In April 2022, the police reopened the case after two new complaints were filed. Golan was interrogated again. Per the police investigators' statements reported in Israeli press at the time, no substantive new evidence was obtained. Golan denied the allegations through his production company, which characterized the renewed inquiry as concerning "false allegations" already thoroughly investigated. The case was again closed.

The Taisia Zamilotsky public account and the 2025 ARCCI complaint

In 2024, Taisia Zamilotsky, who had been a complainant in the 2013 case as a minor, came forward publicly with her account of the events. She attended a January 7, 2025 meeting of the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, where the conduct of the original investigation was discussed at length. She accused Golan, his father, and their associates of organized sexual exploitation of underage girls structured around access to the singer's fame.

On January 8, 2025, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) submitted a complaint to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman alleging that police investigative actions in the original 2013 case may have constituted obstruction of justice. The ARCCI complaint identified a list of investigative decisions that, the organization argued, harmed the complainants and impeded the ability to investigate and bring prosecutions. ARCCI alleged that Golan was given preferential treatment at the police station, including by investigators. The Israel Police responded that the investigation had been "professional and thorough," conducted with sensitivity, and that the rights of complainants had been preserved.

In May 2023, the renewed case had been formally closed for lack of evidence. The ARCCI January 2025 submission to the State Comptroller did not reopen the case but pursued institutional accountability for the conduct of the investigation.

The December 2025 sexual assault complaint

On December 15, 2025, Channel 12 reported that police were investigating a new sexual assault complaint against a "famous singer." On December 17, Israeli press identified the subject as Eyal Golan. The complaint had been filed approximately six months earlier — around mid-2025 — and concerned alleged events from approximately ten years earlier. The complainant, a beautician, met Golan in a professional setting when he came to her for a facial treatment, per Channel 12's reporting. Golan publicly confirmed he was under investigation, stating "this time I will not be able to go through this in silence," and characterized the complaint as a "completely false" extortion plot. His lawyer said that audio recordings exist that refute the allegations. The investigation is active. No charges have been filed.

The 2014 tax evasion conviction

Separately from the sexual misconduct cases, an Israeli court convicted Golan in August 2014 of tax evasion connected to undeclared income of approximately NIS 2.6 million (roughly $750,000). He was fined NIS 75,000 and completed four months of community service at an old-age home in Rishon Lezion. The conviction is in the public record.

The tax evasion conviction triggered an automatic United States visa denial under standard US Department of State practice. Golan's planned 2015 US tour with Sarit Hadad — including dates in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York — was canceled when his visa was refused. He subsequently retained the New York immigration law firm Wildes & Weinberg, the firm that represented John Lennon in his 1970s US deportation case. In February 2019, the firm announced that the US Department of Homeland Security had approved Golan's application for an O-1 visa — the visa class for individuals of extraordinary ability in the arts. The US Department of State subsequently undertook a separate character-and-fitness review. As of the most recent reporting, Golan has not toured the United States. The US market remains structurally closed to him.

The pattern on the record

The integrated picture across the documented record: three separate criminal investigations across twelve years in connection with sexual offenses, with Golan never charged; his father convicted of soliciting minors and serving two years; a separate tax evasion conviction in 2014 that closed the US market; renewed complaints in 2022 and 2025; institutional scrutiny by ARCCI of the original 2013 investigation; and continued public denial by Golan across all sexual offense allegations. The Israeli commercial concert market has continued to support him through every cycle — the Bloomfield Stadium GOLD series sold more than 30,000 tickets in under an hour in March 2025 — and the European diaspora circuit has continued. The US market remains closed. The legal record is on the public record.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Eyal Golan?

Eyal Golan (born Eyal Biton, April 12, 1971, Rehovot) is one of Israel's biggest singers and the senior figure in Mizrahi pop. He has released thirty studio albums across a thirty-year career, has been named Singer of the Decade and Singer of the Year, and has hosted the Mizrahi-vocal reality-television competition Eyal Golan is Calling You since 2011.

How old is Eyal Golan?

Eyal Golan was born April 12, 1971, and is 55 years old as of 2026.

What is Eyal Golan's real name?

Eyal Golan was born Eyal Biton. Golan is a stage name he has used across his entire recording career. His father, Dani Biton, worked as his manager and personal associate.

Was Eyal Golan convicted of any crime?

Yes. In August 2014, an Israeli court convicted Golan of tax evasion connected to undeclared income of approximately NIS 2.6 million. He was fined NIS 75,000 and completed four months of community service. He has never been charged in any sexual offense case; three separate criminal investigations across twelve years have all been closed without charges.

Why can't Eyal Golan tour in the United States?

The 2014 tax evasion conviction triggered an automatic US visa denial under standard US Department of State practice. His planned 2015 US tour with Sarit Hadad was canceled when his visa was refused. His US immigration counsel, Wildes & Weinberg, secured an O-1 visa approval from the Department of Homeland Security in February 2019, but the State Department character-and-fitness review has kept the US market structurally closed to him as of the most recent reporting.

What is Eyal Golan is Calling You?

A Mizrahi-vocal reality-television competition on Israeli television that Golan has hosted and led as the senior judge since 2011. The format identifies emerging Mizrahi vocalists and pairs them with Golan for televised duet performances. The show has continued through multiple seasons across the years covering the police investigations.