Criminal Appeal Authority 83664-02-26 Omri Essenheim v. Israel Police - part 16

Yitzhak Amit

נשיא

Judge Khaled Kabub:

I agree with the detailed and reasoned judgment of my colleague, the President Y.  Amit.

Judge Alex Stein:

1. I agree with what is stated in the judgment of my colleague the President. My opinion is the same as that of his opinion both with regard to the result he reached and with regard to the reasons that led him to this result.
2. I would like to add a brief clarification regarding the limits of journalistic privilege, including the privilege that applies to raw materials and off-the-record conversations with the source. Journalistic privilege exists within the boundaries of the law: when a journalist, acting knowingly or blindly, violates any legal provision relating to state secrets, he is not entitled to the privilege; and the same applies to the source who unlawfully disclosed confidential information to him (see: Criminal Appeal 8445/11 Kam v.  State of Israel, paragraph 18 of the judgment of Justice   Arbel, paragraphs 7-9 of the judgment of Justice H.  Melcer [Nevo] (December 31,2012); See: Branzburg v.  Hayes, 408 U.S.  665,691 (1972) ("It would be frivolous to assert […] that the First Amendment, in the interest of securing news or otherwise, confers a license on either the reporter or his news sources to violate valid criminal laws."); Bartnicki v.  Vopper, 532 U.S.  514,532 (2001) ("Our holding, of course, does not apply to punishing parties for obtaining the relevant information unlawfully.") ).

Decided, as stated in the President's judgment Y.  Amit.

Given today, May 20 , 2026.