Israeli Supreme Court Upholds Defamation Ruling Against Activist Calling MK Corrupt

The Israeli Supreme Court ruled in favor of Knesset member Nissim Vaturi, reinstating a defamation judgment against protest activist Mordechai Harari. Harari had publicly called Vaturi "corrupt," "a criminal," and other derogatory terms, which the court found were not protected under freedom of expression. The ruling, delivered by justices Alex Stein, David Mintz, and Gila Kanfi-Steinitz, overturned a previous district court decision that had reversed the initial defamation ruling.

The legal dispute began when Harari referred to Vaturi as "the most corrupt person," "a scourge on Israel," and "a despicable Jew." The magistrate court initially ordered Harari to pay 10,000 shekels in damages plus 7,000 shekels in legal fees. Although the district court later overturned this verdict, the Supreme Court restored the original ruling and added 4,000 shekels in legal costs for the Supreme Court proceedings, bringing Harari's total payment to 21,000 shekels.

Justice Stein emphasized that terms like "corrupt," "liar," or "criminal" do not automatically receive protection as free speech and require case-by-case examination. Vaturi described the ruling as a significant victory for public discourse in Israel, stating that criticism should not devolve into defamatory personal attacks and that even activists from the Kaplan protest movement must understand they are not above the law.