Gideon Sa'ar Wins Defamation Suit Against Barak Seri Over False Funding Claims

The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court partially ruled in favor of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar in a defamation case against media personality Barak Seri. The court ordered Seri to pay Sa'ar 18,000 shekels in compensation for false claims that Sa'ar used public funds to finance a family vacation to London. Seri had alleged that Sa'ar arranged work meetings to justify the trip's state funding, but Sa'ar and his wife, journalist Geula Even Sa'ar, maintained they personally covered all flight and accommodation costs.

The court found that the flight tickets, costing 14,008.42 shekels, were purchased using Sa'ar's personal credit card and that no funding request or payment was made by the Foreign Ministry for the trip. Judge Roy Shahar ruled that Seri's publications implied misuse of public money and that Sa'ar did not finance a family vacation with state funds but took personal time off for public duties. The court rejected Seri's defenses, including claims that the lawsuit was intended to silence him.

While emphasizing the media's crucial role in scrutinizing public officials, the ruling stressed the need for factual accuracy before publication. The compensation amount reflected that Seri repeated the false claims across three platforms even after Sa'ar corrected him, balanced against Sa'ar's public figure status and freedom of expression considerations. Seri must pay 6,000 shekels for each publication. Sa'ar's wife's defamation claim was dismissed as the statements targeted Sa'ar's official conduct, not her. Each party will bear its own legal costs.