Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat filed a libel lawsuit against Channel 12 News's Omri Maniv on Tuesday, seeking a total of NIS 12 million in damages, a statement from Barkat's office confirmed.
This represents the largest libel lawsuit in Israel's history, according to the statement.
Barkat is accusing Maniv of broadcasting a "false, negligent, and defamatory investigation" into Barkat. The claim contains 25 pages of documents, which it believes "dismantles all of Maniv's allegations, proving it is a chain of fundamental errors, distortion of facts, and the presentation of false representations - carried out while ignoring material information and facts, and with a blatant and severe deviation from the rules of journalism and professional ethics."
"Freedom of expression is not freedom to demean, and freedom of the press is not freedom to defame without basis. This time, Channel 12 chose the wrong target - and acted negligently. The limits of power will now have to be learned in court," the statement concluded.
Barkat's office released a summary of the claim.
It alleges that Maniv's investigation failed as he "did not investigate even a single fact."
"Instead of verification and validation, an artificial circumstantial link was created between random events, from which a story was woven that fits a pattern of personal, obsessive, multi-year persecution of Barkat," it added.
The broadcast...
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