Court Orders Journalist Hadas Steif to Pay Efi Noy NIS 475,000

The Central District Court in Lod ruled on Monday that journalist Hadas Steif and Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) must pay former Israel Bar Association head Efi Noy a total of NIS 475,000 in damages. Judge Oren Schwartz determined that Steif was primarily responsible for a severe invasion of Noy's privacy, stemming from her role in accessing his mobile phones and extracting personal information. These actions reportedly led to the "sex-for-appointment" investigation.

Although Steif did not directly breach the phones herself, the court found her to be the central figure, having initiated and mediated between Noy's ex-wife and the hacker. The court emphasized that Steif's actions were illegal and violated journalistic ethics, disqualifying her from the protections afforded by the privacy protection law. The ruling stated that a journalist cannot participate in a crime while seeking legal protections.

Steif was ordered to pay NIS 450,000 for the privacy infringement, a sum for which Galei Tzahal bears vicarious liability. The court stressed that media organizations are responsible for their journalists' actions within their professional capacity to uphold free investigative journalism. Additionally, Steif must pay NIS 25,000 for calling Noy "a garbage worm" on social media.

Claims against other Galei Tzahal journalists, including Razi Barkai, Nurit Kanti, Ilail Shahar, and Shimon Alqabatz, were dismissed. The court found they acted in good faith and within their journalistic duties when publishing truthful information of public importance. Proceedings against Alqabatz had previously been halted with Noy's consent.