The classification of publication in the application of that attempt to balance rights will be done according to the same rule that has prevailed with us for many years, according to which an objective test must be applied. It is necessary to examine when, in the opinion of the presiding judge, the meaning that a reasonable reader would attribute to the words. Similarly, the question of what the publisher's intention was, on the one hand, is of no importance, and the question of how the person who read the words actually understood it on the other hand (Civil Appeal 740/86 Tumarkin v. Haetzni, IsrSC 33(2), 333, 338); Civil Appeal 7380/06 Dror Hoter-Yishai v. Mordechai Gilat, [published in Nevo], March 2, 2011, para. 49).
The classification of the publication in this case, in the context of a work that was defined as a fictional work, as one that expresses the search for expression and the search for the work, will be done with extreme caution. Bearing in mind thatartistic expression is a central element in the search for expression, and out of a desire to avoid imposing heavy restrictions on the right of a creator to "break through the closure of his heart, to wave a wing, and to give free rein to his thoughts" (High Court of Justice 14/86 Laor v. Board of Film and Drama Criticism, IsrSC 41(1) 421, 427).
- After emphasizing all those warning lights that flash when examining a claim that seeks to harm the search for the expression, the application of this test in this matter cannot leave room for doubt.
There is no need to bring derogatory expressions of one kind or another that the defendant uses to describe the "villain", although there are many of them. It is sufficient to bring the description of the villain in the explicit words used by the defendant.
Thus in the presentation of the book (p. 3 in the appendices to the plaintiff's affidavit):
An Israeli wakes up in the morning, and then discovers to his horror that the person he thought was a good friend of his, an internationally renowned lecturer in Europe and the president of a company fighting computer crime, who has extensive connections in Israeli politics and the police, is at the same time a dubious businessman, an international crook and the head of a criminal organization, and is nothing but a "predator" whose goal was to destroy him financially in a long-term plan.