Court Orders Right-Wing Activist to Pay Journalist Guy Peleg 100,000 Shekels for Defamation

The Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court ruled in favor of journalist Guy Peleg in a defamation lawsuit against right-wing activist Shlomi Acherak. The court ordered Acherak to pay Peleg 100,000 shekels in damages after Acherak posted a series of Facebook comments over about a month, calling Peleg phrases such as "looks like a pedophile" and "looks like a sexual deviant."

Judge Limor Khaled-Ron determined that although the expressions were not stated as factual claims but rather as appearances, categorizing them as insults rather than mere street curses, they were serious enough to warrant compensation. In deciding the amount, the judge considered the severity of the statements, their duration and repetition, and the relatively limited public reach of the posts.

In addition to the 100,000 shekels in damages, Acherak was ordered to pay 5,000 shekels in court costs and 13,000 shekels for attorney fees. This ruling underscores the legal boundaries of online speech and the consequences of defamatory remarks against public figures in Israel.