Israeli Actress Sues UN Envoy for $130,000 Over Interview Clip
Translated & summarized from N12 by baba
Israeli actress Sherri Givati is suing UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for NIS 500,000 in defamation damages. Givati alleges Albanese falsely portrayed her as justifying the killing of children in Gaza by sharing a clip of an interview out of context and comparing her to Nazis. The lawsuit claims the UN envoy's post damaged Givati's reputation and endangered her safety. Albanese has not yet responded, but is expected to claim lack of jurisdiction or diplomatic immunity.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Actress Sherri Givati is suing UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for NIS 500,000 over defamation.
- Givati claims Albanese falsely accused her of justifying child killings and compared her to Nazis.
- The lawsuit centers on a social media post by Albanese sharing a clip of Givati's interview.
- Albanese's post garnered over two million views and was shared widely.
- Givati states the post damaged her reputation and endangered her safety.
Israeli actress and model Sherri Givati has filed a defamation lawsuit seeking NIS 500,000 (approximately $130,000) against Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories. The lawsuit, filed in Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, alleges that Albanese distorted Givati's words and took them out of context in a social media post, falsely portraying her as justifying the killing of children in Gaza.
Givati's legal action stems from a video clip of an interview she gave to i24NEWS in September 2025. In the interview, Givati discussed her evolving worldview after the October 7th Hamas attacks, her role as an advocate for Israel, and her belief that political discourse had become extreme. When asked about actions taken by Israel, Givati responded that while she was saddened by any child crying, she understood that if action wasn't taken, that child might grow up to be a terrorist. She also expressed concern that the term "Israeli" would become difficult to utter globally after the war.
Approximately a year later, in September 2026, Albanese shared a 23-second clip of the interview on X (formerly Twitter), accompanied by a partial English translation. Albanese captioned the post, "The children will grow. This was also the argument used by senior Nazis during the Nuremberg trials to justify why they killed children during the Holocaust." The post garnered over two million views and tens of thousands of shares.
Givati, represented by the legal organization Shurat HaDin and attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, asserts that Albanese's post was false, damaging to her reputation, and endangered her personal safety. The lawsuit claims that Albanese's post solidified a "preposterous accusation" that Givati supports killing children and linked her to Nazi justifications for murder. Givati stated that she is "shocked by the false comparison" and will not remain silent against those who try to harm and slander Israel. Shurat HaDin stated that Albanese is conducting an "anti-Semitic campaign" against Israel and that this lawsuit is the first opportunity to hold her accountable for her words.
Albanese has not yet responded. It is anticipated that she may argue that Israeli courts lack jurisdiction or claim immunity as a UN envoy. The legal organization Shurat HaDin believes Israeli courts do have jurisdiction because the post was global and the damage was done to Givati in Israel.
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