Journalist Hadas Steif Launches Public Funding Campaign After Legal Defeat
Translated & summarized from Srugim by baba
Journalist Hadas Steif is seeking public donations after a court ordered her to pay significant damages in the Efi Nave phone hacking case. Facing potential asset seizure and financial ruin, Steif stated she has already used her 35-year severance pay for the legal battle. She criticized the state for betraying her journalistic mission and expressed uncertainty about other defendants' contributions to the damages.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Journalist Hadas Steif is crowdfunding after being ordered to pay damages in the Efi Nave phone hacking case.
- Steif fears asset seizure and financial ruin due to the court's ruling.
- She claims the state betrayed her journalistic mission in handling the case.
- Steif has reportedly used her entire 35-year severance pay for legal costs.
- She questions if other defendants will contribute to the ordered damages.
Israeli journalist Hadas Steif has launched an unusual public appeal for financial assistance following a court ruling that ordered her to pay substantial damages in the case of hacking the phone of former Bar Association chairman Efi Nave.
Steif revealed her dire financial situation in a social media post on Saturday night, explaining that she has been forced to start a crowdfunding campaign to avoid having her assets seized. "I tried to avoid this. I thought justice would be done. I was wrong," Steif wrote to her followers. "With no other choice, and with my neck on the line, I had to do what many advised me. I so didn't want to. I said and repeated that I would go to jail rather than pay, but in the meantime, everything I have will be seized. Enforcement will ruin my life. And they won't send me to jail, not at this stage."
Steif sharply criticized the state and the legal system, asserting that she acted out of journalistic duty, similar to her previous exposés. She expressed uncertainty about whether other parties sued in the case would contribute their share of the damages as stipulated by the ruling. "The Efi Nave affair was not for my private benefit. It was my job, just like the Silvan Shalom and Emanuel Rosen affairs, and others. Only this time, the state betrayed me in every sense of the word," Steif claimed. "To the point that I don't even know if they will pay their part of what the judge ordered them to pay. Either way, the hammer of judgment has fallen on my head."
The journalist concluded by directly requesting financial support from the public, disclosing that she had used her entire 35-year severance pay to fund the legal proceedings. "Whoever believes in my work, whoever understands the ramifications of this affair that are still felt today, will help me even a little to fulfill the judge's ruling. So far, I have given all my severance pay from 35 years to this trial. Hoping that the light that has disappeared from the country will shine again."
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