Author to Apologize, Pay Damages Over Defamation Claims in Netanyahu-Recommended Book

Author Hanan Amiur will publish an apology and his book, "The Workshop of Mind Engineering," will be amended following a defamation lawsuit. Amiur and the book's publisher, Sella Meir, were ordered to pay attorney Yair Nahorai NIS 45,000 after reaching an agreement in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court. The lawsuit stemmed from a controversy involving a Channel 13 report by reporter Omri Maniv about lessons given by Rabbi Assaf Numburg. In the report, the Rabbi was heard speaking harshly against secular people and warning against associating with them or serving in the army alongside them. Amiur had claimed on the "Perspective" website that Maniv misrepresented the Rabbi's words. Channel 13 initially rejected the criticism but later apologized and suspended Maniv. In November 2020, the Rabbi and his academy filed a NIS 1 million defamation suit against Maniv, Channel 13, and others, including Nahorai, who had allegedly disseminated the publication. While Maniv and the channel reached a confidential settlement in July 2021, Nahorai pursued his case. In August, the suit against Nahorai was dismissed, and he was awarded court costs. The plaintiffs had previously withdrawn their claim that Nahorai had selectively edited the Rabbi's remarks before passing them to Maniv. Amiur's book, however, alleged that Nahorai was the one who provided Maniv with edited segments of the lessons, questioning whether Maniv had viewed the full material before airing. Nahorai subsequently sued Amiur and Sella Meir for NIS 200,000, asserting that the book damaged his reputation and credibility as a researcher. He pointed to a prior interview where Amiur stated Maniv claimed to have seen the full lessons. Amiur and the publisher argued their statements were opinion, not fact, and that Amiur concluded it was unlikely Maniv had seen the full lessons given the broadcast. Under the agreement approved by Judge Mika Banki, Amiur will post a pre-determined apology on Facebook and Twitter stating he retracts his claim that Nahorai took Rabbi Numburg's lessons out of context. The book's electronic and future print editions will be corrected to remove the allegation that Nahorai provided edited segments to Maniv. The judge set the compensation at NIS 45,000.