796,500 Shekels: Radio Station 103FM to Compensate Nathan Zahavi
The court ruled that 103FM breached its agreement with Nathan Zahavi by suspending him from broadcasting for 27 months without pay. The judge rejected claims regarding defamation and moral rights, and ordered the termination of the contract.
The Tel Aviv District Court has partially upheld the lawsuit filed by broadcaster Nathan Zahavi and his company, "Shit Zahavi Ltd.," against radio station 103FM. The court ruled that the station breached its contractual agreement by suspending Zahavi from broadcasting without paying his agreed-upon remuneration.
Judge Limor Bibi ordered the station to pay the plaintiffs 796,500 shekels, covering the contractual remuneration for the 27-month suspension period plus VAT, along with 75,000 shekels in legal fees. Claims regarding the infringement of moral rights and defamation were rejected.
The dispute originated in November 2022, when Zahavi, during his program, reacted to reports that 174 lonely elderly individuals had been found dead in their homes. During the broadcast, he remarked that he would be pleased if certain public representatives "tied tefillin to their throats and hanged themselves." Following these comments, the station suspended him, issued a formal condemnation, and demanded an apology and guarantees against future regulatory violations as a condition for his return. Zahavi refused, leading to the legal battle.
Represented by Adv. Lior Epstein, the plaintiffs argued that the station breached a long-standing agreement by abandoning Zahavi instead of defending him before the Second Authority, as it had done in the past. They contended that suspension without pay was not permitted under the contract and that the station’s unilateral demands altered the terms of engagement.
Radio 103FM argued that Zahavi was the one who breached the agreement by failing to adhere to legal and regulatory standards and refusing to follow management instructions. The station emphasized that, operating under a public license, it was obligated to act following the broadcast.
Judge Bibi ruled that while Zahavi had contractual obligations, the decision to suspend him without pay was inconsistent with the agreement. As the station had not formally terminated the contract during the suspension, the court ordered the agreement to be terminated as of the date of the verdict.
The judge further ordered the station to clarify whether it intends to enforce the non-compete clause. Should it waive this clause, Zahavi will be free to work with other broadcasting entities.
Adv. Lior Epstein stated:
"This verdict sends a sharp message to every media and commercial body in Israel: you cannot take a person who has built a brand and reputation for decades, silence him indefinitely, stop paying him, and then demand he accept new conditions that were never in the contract. Managerial power is not a license to trample a contract, and today the court set this boundary clearly."
