The Kfar Saba Magistrate's Court recently ruled on a defamation lawsuit filed by Maj. Gen. (Res. ) Israel Ziv, former commander of the Gaza Division and head of the Operations Directorate, against activist and attorney Ido Shifoni. In the ruling delivered by Judge Ronen Peleg, it was determined that the defendant disseminated defamatory and baseless content on social media, characterizing Ziv as having been involved in treason against the state during the October 7 attack.
According to a report in ICE, the lawsuit focused on conspiratorial claims spread by Shifoni, alleging that Ziv and other senior reserve officers acted out of ulterior motives related to public relations to destabilize the government. Judge Peleg rejected all defense arguments raised by Shifoni, firmly ruling that the publications were not made in good faith. The verdict emphasized that the defendant's claims did not constitute a legitimate public issue, but were intended to humiliate the plaintiff and attribute severe acts to him that had no basis in reality.
The court commended Ziv's actions on the morning of October 7, referencing his heroic conduct in the Gaza Envelope and the personal risk he undertook. The verdict criticized the nature of the publications, noting that such heroic acts are tarnished by these types of statements. As a result of the proceedings, Shifoni was ordered to pay 140,000 NIS in damages, plus 28,000 NIS for legal expenses and attorney fees. Additionally, he was fined 10,000 NIS to the state treasury due to his procedural conduct during the trial.
Beyond the financial compensation, the court ordered Shifoni to remove the defamatory posts within 14 days from the date of the judgment. Furthermore, the defendant was required to publish the essence of the court's findings on his Facebook and X pages for a period of 30 consecutive days. This ruling serves as a significant legal reminder regarding the boundaries of acceptable and prohibited discourse in political debate on social media, especially when involving sharp and baseless accusations against public and security figures.