Court Awards Benayahu NIS 80,000 in Defamation Case Against Buzaglo
Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba
A Tel Aviv court ordered Ran Carmi Buzaglo to pay former IDF Spokesperson Avi Benayahu approximately NIS 80,000 in damages and NIS 23,000 in legal fees for defamation. Buzaglo had accused Benayahu of informing on IDF soldiers arrested in Brazil in a social media post. The court rejected Buzaglo's defense, finding his claims to be defamatory and made in bad faith. Benayahu stated the lawsuit was necessary after Buzaglo refused to apologize.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Ran Carmi Buzaglo must pay Avi Benayahu NIS 80,000 for defamation and NIS 23,000 in legal fees.
- Buzaglo accused Benayahu of informing on IDF soldiers arrested in Brazil in a social media post.
- The court rejected Buzaglo's defense, ruling his claims were defamatory and made in bad faith.
- The case involved a photo of soldiers with a 'Messiah' emblem, shared by Benayahu in a critique of IDF command.
- Benayahu filed the suit after Buzaglo refused to apologize for the wartime post.
A Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court has ruled in favor of former IDF Spokesperson Avi Benayahu, ordering far-right activist Ran Carmi Buzaglo to pay approximately NIS 80,000 in damages, plus NIS 23,000 in legal fees, for defamation. The ruling stems from a post Buzaglo published approximately two and a half years ago, during wartime, which accused Benayahu of being a "snitch" and of informing on IDF soldiers arrested in Brazil.
The case originated when a civilian, Cohen, photographed two soldiers with a distinctive emblem on their uniforms, described as a king's crown with the word "Messiah" underneath. When Cohen questioned them, he was allegedly attacked. He photographed their arms, capturing the profile of one soldier, and shared the image with Benayahu.
Benayahu then incorporated this image into a social media post criticizing the IDF's senior command and military police, stating that "something is not right in the IDF" and that the senior command has lost authority. Buzaglo subsequently reposted Benayahu's post, including the soldiers' photos and faces, with a caption that questioned whether Benayahu had "snitched" on a soldier arrested in Brazil, referring to Benayahu as "filth."
Buzaglo had argued that his actions constituted a "silencing lawsuit" and that he was defending the truth. However, Judge Avihai Barkai rejected these claims. While the court found the term "filth" to be merely an ugly epithet, it determined that Buzaglo's insinuation that Benayahu had informed on a soldier arrested in Brazil constituted defamation. The judge noted that Buzaglo's post implied Benayahu acted to harm the photographed soldiers and potentially collaborated with the enemy during wartime.
Benayahu stated that he was forced to file the lawsuit after Buzaglo refused to apologize. He expressed gratitude to his legal team, Eyal Rozovski, Tomer Fuks from Meitar Law Firm, and Zion Amir, for their work. Benayahu concluded with a warning to "be careful with your keyboards."
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