The Central District Court in Lod issued a partial ruling on Tuesday in the defamation case filed by Prof. Shikma Bressler against MK Tally Gotliv of Likud. Judge Rami Haimovich accepted Gotliv’s parliamentary immunity argument in part and struck major sections of the suit, but rejected her claim of absolute immunity that would bar the court from hearing the case at all.
The judge said the court could not dismiss the allegations tied to specific factual claims. Those claims include Gotliv’s publication that American intelligence allegedly intercepted a call between Bressler’s partner, a former Shin Bet fighter, and Yahya Sinwar, and that Bressler was then summoned urgently to meet the head of the Mossad. Bressler says those assertions are completely fabricated.
Haimovich said several factors weighed against dismissing that part of the suit, including that Gotliv acknowledged she knew publication was prohibited and was knowingly violating the Shin Bet law by revealing an operative’s identity. He also said the publications were not presented as neutral security claims, but as insinuations linking Bressler and her partner to the October 7 war outbreak. In addition, Gotliv did not submit a properly sworn affidavit showing she had a real basis to believe the reports, which were published on the website Edena Karnaval.
At the same time, the court accepted Gotliv’s request to dismiss claims over posts that were opinion, harsh criticism, or political commentary about Bressler’s public role before and after the war. The judge said scrutiny of the causes of the failure and Hamas’s attack lies at the heart of lawmakers’ work, and wrote that the court judges law and precedent, not legislators’ style. “The court is not the arena for political brawling,” he said.
Haimovich stressed the ruling applies only in the civil case and does not affect the criminal proceedings against Gotliv over violating the Shin Bet law. He also said the dispute reflects a broader political and ideological conflict and urged public figures to think carefully before taking such fights to court. No costs were awarded, and both sides were ordered to file requests to advance the case within 30 days.
