Civil Case (Center) 4585-02-19 Ephraim Naveh v. Hadas Steif

Judgment

Background to the lawsuit

1. Attorney Effi Naveh, the plaintiff in this lawsuit (hereinafter - Naveh), was considered at the time to be the most powerful and influential figure among the Israeli legal community. Between the years 2015-2019, Naveh served as chairman of the Israel Bar Association.  In June 2017, Naveh was elected by the Israel Bar Association as one of its representatives on the Judges' Selection Committee.  Naveh managed the Bar Association with a high hand.  However, along with the appreciation he received for his public activity, his conduct aroused quite a bit of criticism among his opponents.
2. On December 25,2018, an indictment was filed against Naveh for leaving Israel illegally together, entering Israel illegally together, and fraudulently receiving something together. The indictment was filed because he helped his spouse leave Israel through the checkpoints at Ben Gurion Airport without presenting her passport, and similarly on their return to Israel (hereinafter - The Ben Gurion Airport Affair).  Upon the filing of the indictment, Naveh announced his retirement from the Judicial Appointments Committee.

Another affair that was related to Naveh dealt with sexual relations that he had with interns.  This affair hovered over Naveh even before the events that are the subject of this lawsuit took place.  Defendant 1 (hereinafter - Steif), a journalist whose banner was engraved on the war against public corruption and the sexual exploitation of women, began to investigate the matter.  Subsequently, contact was made between her and Ms. Hani Naveh (hereinafter - Hani), who was Naveh's wife in those days.

The Ottoman Settlement [Old Version] 19163.      In various circumstances that I will discuss in the framework of the judgment, a number of mobile phones that were previously used by Mr. Naveh came into the hands of a third party - Mr. Yuli Rosenberg (hereinafter - July).  Yuli penetrated the contents of the devices and produced information that was stored in them.  The information was given to Steif.  Since Shteif believed that this was information of news and public value, she brought the matter to the attention of the other defendants, with the aim of broadcasting an investigative news program on the radio station "Galei Tzahal" on Naveh's case.  Following the intervention of legal authorities, a police investigation was launched.