Education Minister Yoav Kisch sent a formal pre-lawsuit notice on Thursday to former prime minister Naftali Bennett, demanding that he retract remarks made at a press conference about Bennett’s education plan and apologize. Bennett had attacked Kisch, saying, “We have a terrible education minister,” and that “everyone in the education system knows all that matters is primaries.”
Kisch’s letter says the comments were “false, absurd and defamatory” and were intended to smear him, stir hatred and contempt toward him, and portray him as acting from improper motives without any factual basis. His lawyers said Bennett repeated the claims knowingly as part of a political campaign aimed at damaging Kisch and extracting political benefit from the attack.
The notice also stressed that the two men are already involved in a separate legal process over earlier defamatory statements Bennett allegedly made against Kisch. In the letter, Kisch gave Bennett seven days to publicly and clearly apologize and withdraw his remarks.
If Bennett does not comply, Kisch said he has instructed his lawyers to take any further legal step available under Israel’s defamation law and tort law. Bennett’s office had not responded by the time the report was published.
