Lucy Aharish Sues Three Social Media Users for Defamation

Israeli journalist and television anchor Lucy Aharish has filed three defamation lawsuits totaling 520,000 shekels against three social media users. Aharish alleges that the defendants posted false, inciting, and racist statements about her on platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). These posts allegedly included harsh insults and references to her young son.

The largest lawsuit, for 350,000 shekels, targets Herzl Golan of Tel Aviv. According to the suit, Golan called Aharish a "terrorist," "Nazi terror supporter," and "Arab supporting the destruction of the Jewish people." The lawsuit further claims Golan falsely attributed to Aharish's son an intention to murder Jews in the future. Aharish contends these posts were intended to humiliate her for racist reasons, stemming from her non-Jewish identity and her public statements.

A second lawsuit, for 100,000 shekels, was filed against Meir Zuberman, also of Tel Aviv. Zuberman allegedly called Aharish a "pathetic terrorist, a slanderer of Israel" and wished she would "move to Gaza," portraying her as an enemy of the people rather than a legitimate citizen. Aharish states Zuberman ignored a warning letter demanding the removal of the posts and an apology.

The third lawsuit, for 70,000 shekels, targets Meira Weksler of Haifa, who works as an arbitrator and mediator. Aharish claims Weksler called her a "terrorist supporter" in Instagram comments. Weksler reportedly removed the posts after receiving a warning letter and offered a settlement of 12,000 shekels, which she refused to pay. Weksler argued her comments were emotional responses within a public discourse and that their removal demonstrated good faith and "good citizenship."

Aharish's attorney, Amit Mor, rejected Weksler's defense, stating that the content of the posts indicated a lack of good faith and that removing them out of fear of a lawsuit does not constitute good citizenship. No defense statements have been filed yet in any of the lawsuits.