Appeals Court Upholds NIS 145,000 Defamation Award Against Omer Namani

The Tel Aviv District Court rejected an appeal by Omer Namani, the former spokesman for MK Yair Golan, and left in place a defamation ruling requiring him to pay journalist Amit Segal NIS 145,000. Segal announced the decision on Sunday and said the amount, which includes the original damages and costs, will stand.

Segal wrote, "Update: Namani's appeal to the district court was also rejected, the payment of NIS 145,000 will remain in force." He added, "My condolences to the hundreds who donated a total of NIS 360,000 to him, next time it is better to donate to soldiers or the needy and not to chronic liars." Segal also said he plans to continue with further legal steps, writing, "The next stop: Paula Rosenberg, Hila Regev and Moshe Radman."

The case began after the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court partially accepted Segal's libel lawsuit against Namani in April last year. Judge Arie Biton ordered Namani to pay NIS 120,000 in compensation without proof of damage, plus NIS 25,000 in legal expenses and attorney's fees, for a total of NIS 145,000. The suit concerned six different posts that Segal said portrayed him in a damaging way.

Among other things, the posts called Segal a "racist," an "inciter against Arabs," and a "poll manipulator," and alleged that he hid information from the public and worked to "whitewash the acts of violence of right-wing terrorists." Biton found that some of the posts amounted to defamation because they accused Segal of racism, incitement, and lack of professional integrity without sufficient factual basis. He wrote that Namani's opinion of Segal was not based on true facts and said the posts were meant to smear Segal as a journalist because of his views. Other parts of the lawsuit were dismissed because the court said they were protected by law as permissible criticism of a public figure and fell under free speech protections.