Shikma Bressler wins libel lawsuit: Court awards 100,000 shekels
The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court ruled in favor of Shikma Bressler, determining that social media posts by Panya Michaeli constituted libel. The defendant must pay compensation and remove the defamatory content.
Shikma Bressler is an Israeli physicist and associate professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science, known primarily as a leading figure in the public protests against the government and judicial reform in Israel.
Due to her vocal public stance, Bressler frequently becomes the target of attacks on social media, at demonstrations, and even from the Knesset podium. Consequently, Professor Bressler has filed several defamation lawsuits, including against Knesset member Tally Gotliv and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Tuesday, the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court ruled in favor of Shikma Bressler in her lawsuit against Panya (Fani) Michaeli, determining that a series of posts Michaeli published on Facebook and Twitter after October 7, 2023, constituted libel.
"These were serious publications at the high end of libel," Senior Judge Dorit Feinstein stated in her ruling.
Michaeli was ordered to pay Bressler 100,000 shekels, plus linkage and interest, as well as 35,000 shekels in attorney's fees and 5,500 shekels in court costs. Bressler had originally sought 600,000 shekels in damages.
Bressler claimed that Michaeli published dozens of posts accusing her of treason, aiding Hamas, and having prior knowledge of the October 7 massacre, alongside calls for physical harm. Michaeli argued that the lawsuit was a SLAPP suit and that her posts were protected as expressions of opinion under Israeli law.
The court rejected Michaeli’s defenses, noting that she failed to provide evidence for her claims and could not substantiate her sources. The argument that she was relying on statements made by Knesset member Tally Gotliv was also dismissed.
The judge ruled that while the lawsuit cited 26 separate posts, they should be treated as a single publication for compensation purposes due to their similar nature and the short timeframe in which they were posted. However, due to the severity of the content and the clear intent to cause harm, the court awarded the maximum double compensation.
In addition to the financial penalty, the court ordered Michaeli to remove the posts from Facebook and Twitter and to publish a notice within 30 days stating that the publications were libelous and that the court had determined them to be false.
