Libel lawsuit by Haaretz journalist against Yair Netanyahu dismissed

The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court dismissed the libel lawsuit filed by Haaretz journalist Yossi Klein against Yair Netanyahu and the Likud party, after ruling that although Klein's words were distorted in a post on the X network, it was not proven that the Likud or Netanyahu were responsible for disseminating the distortion.

Judge Ronen Ilan ruled that the publication on behalf of the Likud constitutes an expression of political opinion, not libel. However, he emphasized that "freedom of speech does not include the freedom to lie," referring to the distorted quote attributed to Klein.

The background to the lawsuit is an opinion piece published by Klein in February 2023 under the headline "Attention: 1933 is already here," in which he warned of violent escalation surrounding the protests against the government. Two days later, a quote attributed to him was circulated on the X network, according to which the protesters "returned home with a heavy feeling because blood was not spilled."

The court determined that this was a complete distortion: in the original column, Klein wrote that the protesters returned home "also with a kind of relief. Blood was not spilled." "The difference in the meaning of the words is clear. It is abysmal," the judge wrote.

On the same day, the Likud published a statement that a complaint had been filed with the police against Klein, Ehud Barak, and Uri Misgav for "incitement and calls for civil disobedience," and Yair Netanyahu shared the post. Klein argued that by doing so, the two adopted the distorted quote and presented him as someone who encourages violence.

However, the court ruled that the evidence does not support this claim. According to the verdict, Klein failed to prove that the Likud published the distorted quote itself, but only parts of the original publication that did not include the distortion. Therefore, it was determined that it was not proven that Netanyahu or the Likud disseminated false information.

The judge added that the Likud's publication itself does not constitute libel, as a reasonable reader would understand that it is an expression of political opinion and an announcement of a complaint being filed, not a factual determination that Klein committed an offense.

Nevertheless, the verdict also includes criticism of the defendants' arguments. The judge ruled that a review of the full column shows that Klein does not preach violence but warns against it and describes a scenario of deterioration. It was further noted that even if it had been determined that this was libel, the "truth in publication" defense would not have been accepted, as the column does not encourage violence.

In conclusion, the lawsuit was dismissed in its entirety, and Klein was ordered to pay the defendants 25,000 shekels for legal expenses and attorney fees — half to Yair Netanyahu and half to the Likud party.