Following a radio interview on channel 103, in which Yossi Langotsky, the father of the deep-water gas field discoveries in the Mediterranean Sea, warned against deteriorating into civil war amidst the public debate, Channel 14 personality Yaakov Bardugo delivered a monologue that same evening accusing Langotsky of threatening violence, calling for his arrest, and referring to him using humiliating and degrading slurs..
The Court accepted the defamation claim filed by Mr. Langotsky both against Channel 14 and against Mr. Bardugo personally, due to the false attribution of violent intentions and threats, statements that constitute defamation and were not protected by statutory defenses. Israeli law defines defamatory publication as anything liable to humiliate a person, make them an object of hatred, contempt, or ridicule, or harm their office, business, or profession. It is sufficient that the publication is liable to demean or humiliate a person for it to constitute defamation, without the need to prove actual humiliation or demeanment. The test in this matter is objective and neither the publisher's intent nor the manner in which the publication was understood by the injured party is relevant; as a general rule, in order to determine whether a publication contains defamation, The Court will interpret the publication according to the natural and ordinary meaning of its words. The law imposes liability for media publications on both the presenter and the broadcasting body, unless statutory defenses apply, and permits statutory damages without proof of harm. In our case, the statements made during the live broadcast exceeded the boundaries of legitimate expression of opinion and constituted severe defamation that presented a well-known public figure as a dangerous person. Furthermore, there was no truth to the publication, and the publishers could not rely on the defense of good faith, as the statements were made without minimal factual verification. The broadcast channel bears full liability for the publication alongside the presenter, having failed to take the necessary precautions or set warning signals to prevent the broadcast of defamation; therefore, the presenter and the broadcast channel were ordered jointly and severally to compensate with a high amount.