Channel 12’s legal response in a NIS 12 million defamation suit filed by Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat appears to mark a major retreat from the accusations it aired about him. The lawsuit, filed through attorney Amir Rosenberg in the district court, followed a televised investigative segment and later publications that alleged Barkat had committed serious wrongdoing, had conflicts of interest, held shares in commercial companies, and used associates to buy the content platform PUSH.
In the defense filing, reporter Omri Maniv and News 12 say the report did not establish criminal facts and instead dealt with “cases raising concern about conflicts of interest” and matters that “raise questions and doubts.” The defendants also acknowledge they do not have any official document proving their central claim that Barkat held shares in PUSH. Barkat had presented official company records showing that neither he nor BRM controls the platform, and Channel 12 responded that company records do not reflect contractual arrangements or indirect holdings.
The filing further states that some of the material in the investigation had already appeared in other media outlets before the Channel 12 segment, suggesting that part of the report was not the product of an independent investigation. Barkat’s complaint says he is fully detached from his business affairs, which are managed through a legally approved blind trust.
Since the broadcast, Barkat has intensified his public campaign against Channel 12, prompting other ministers to boycott the network. He has also backed the Force 100 fighters and said he will support their lawsuits against the channel through a legal aid fund he established with his personal money. Barkat said, “For ratings they invented criminal offenses against me, but in court they got stage fright and folded to the claim that they only ‘asked questions.’”
