The Kfar Saba Magistrate’s Court accepted a defamation suit filed by retired Maj. Gen. Israel Ziv against TikTok creator and internet personality Eliran Abraham Dehan. The ruling came after Dehan failed to file a defense by the court deadline.
As a result, Dehan was ordered to pay Ziv 160,000 shekels in damages and about 20,000 shekels in legal costs. The case centered on a video Dehan posted on social media, including X, Facebook and Threads.
According to the lawsuit, the video created a false and harmful impression by combining a 2018 Globes article about U.S. Treasury sanctions imposed on Ziv and others over alleged arms trafficking in South Sudan with a clip from an interview with journalist Yossi Melman. Ziv said the edit made it seem as if he had been involved in wrongdoing, using captions such as “as part of an investigative report on arms dealers” and calls to share the content widely.
The complaint called the post a “false, malicious and inciting publication” intended to damage Ziv’s good name, public standing and credibility as a security analyst. It also said the video omitted that the American sanctions had been lifted more than five years ago after the allegations were found to be baseless, and that Melman had not mentioned Ziv in the interview at all. Before going to court, Ziv sent Dehan a warning letter demanding removal of the video, an apology and compensation, but Dehan refused and posted another video saying he was ready to face Ziv in court. Because no defense was filed, the court granted the case in full and awarded Ziv the full amount requested.
