Channel 14 Host Yinnon Magal to Pay Journalist Guy Peleg Damages for Defamation

Channel 14 host Yinnon Magal has been ordered by a Tel Aviv court to pay Channel 12 journalist Guy Peleg 7,500 shekels in damages for defamation. The ruling came after Peleg sued Magal over statements made on air, in which Magal questioned Peleg's military service, claiming he "didn't do any army service at all, was released after two days."

Judge Roee Shahar found that Magal's statements were not made in good faith and that his intention was to harm Peleg personally and portray him as a draft dodger. The court noted that Peleg completed his full mandatory military service and served an additional 16 years in reserves. "The defendant's words were not true and the defendant took no action to check their accuracy before publication," the judge wrote, adding that Magal acted in bad faith.

Magal later attempted to correct his statement on air after receiving a pre-litigation letter from Peleg, saying, "Peleg, I said he did a few months of military service, according to what he claims he did full service. He volunteered and did full service. I checked... that's what it is... so here I corrected in passing about lawsuits and all sorts."

The judge rejected the defense's argument that the statements were merely an opinion, stating that the correction itself proved Magal knew the information was factually incorrect. Even in a forum for opinions, the judge clarified, hosts must balance freedom of speech with protecting reputations when presenting factual data.

However, the court dismissed Peleg's lawsuit against Channel 14, ruling that the network could not be held liable because Magal's remarks were made live, and the channel had no prior opportunity to monitor or prevent them. The final damages amount was reduced from the 160,000 shekels originally sought, taking into account Magal's partial correction.