Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak Sues Producer for 200,000 Shekels Over AI-Altered Video
Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak filed a 200,000-shekel defamation lawsuit against music producer Yishai Raziel, alleging AI manipulation of a lecture video to falsely attribute statements supporting homosexuality.
Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak, a prominent Israeli outreach figure, filed a 200,000-shekel defamation lawsuit on Wednesday at the Herzliya Magistrate's Court against music producer Yishai Raziel. The lawsuit centers on allegations that Raziel used artificial intelligence technology to edit and manipulate a video from one of the rabbi's Torah lectures, falsely attributing fabricated statements to him.
According to the statement of claim, Raziel took a video clip from a lecture concerning repentance and circulated an altered version on social media, making it appear as though the rabbi stated: "There is nothing wrong with male-to-male intercourse if both care for and love each other; even the generation's decisors praise male-to-male intercourse."
The lawsuit emphasizes that this constitutes a severe misrepresentation, given that the prohibition is explicit in Jewish law and carries the punishment of excision. Attributing such statements to the rabbi portrays him to the public as someone who "denies Torah law and seeks to uproot it." An initial statement of defense has not yet been submitted by Raziel.
This legal action adds to a long string of legal proceedings involving Rabbi Yitzhak over the years, both as a plaintiff and defendant, concerning defamation and injury to his reputation. In early 2025, the Rishon LeZion Magistrate's Court dismissed a libel suit filed by Rabbi Yitzhak and the Shofar organization against tech giants Google and Meta, in which they demanded damages and the removal of offensive content uploaded to social networks. The court ruled that the companies bear no tort liability for content published by third parties and ordered the rabbi and his organization to pay over 100,000 shekels in legal costs.
Additionally, last July, Rabbi Yitzhak, his son, and the Shofar organization were ordered to compensate a woman approximately 25,000 shekels by the Hadera Small Claims Court after it was determined that he quoted personal letters during his lectures, constituting an invasion of privacy and defamation. Over past decades, Rabbi Yitzhak has pursued various legal battles against media outlets, journalists, and public figures regarding coverage of his lectures and activities.
