Three legal areas / Defamation
Defamation
Israel's Defamation Law provides the framework for assessing a publication that may harm reputation. Analysis begins with the exact publication, its audience, the person identified, and the full context.
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Articles in this section
Defamation
Is the Chen Fisher Gabbay law office liable for attorney Dotan Tzur's words?
Employer, principal and corporate liability for defamation: are the office and its partners liable for attorney Dotan Tzur's words, and what must be proven.
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"So that everyone knows": the mental element in defamation and the words of attorney Dotan Tzur
"Thief, fraud and criminal", "so that everyone knows": the mental element in the tort and offence of defamation, against the transcript with attorney Dotan Tzur.
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Could the words of Dotan Tzur, attorney, amount to defamatory publication ?
Dotan Tzur, attorney, Chen Fisher Gabbay receiver, a vehicle under receivership. When are spoken words a “publication” under defamation law, and what does the transcript show.
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Are the receiver and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank liable for a publication by Attorney Dotan Tzur ?
Chen Fisher Gabbay receiver, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, Mizrahi Tefahot Leasing Ltd. Who is liable for a defamatory publication, what the book says, and what a judgment held on a bank’s liability for a receiver’s acts.
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Receiver - Officer of the Court ?
Dotan Tzur, attorney, counsel for the receiver, the enforcement hearing and what was heard after it. What the case law says about a litigant’s immunity, and what “officer of the court” means.
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Chen Fisher Gabbay receiver: freedom of expression versus the right to a good name
Victor Fisher, attorney, as receiver, Dotan Tzur, attorney, at the hearing, and a defendant called a thief, a fraudster and a criminal. Where criticism ends and harm to a good name begins.
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Cars sold by a receiver: buyer beware
A vehicle owner's case: a November 2023 bank delay record, loan settlement requests, court decisions and remarks attributed to the receiver's lawyer.
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The publication
Record the exact words, date, medium, audience, and evidence of dissemination.
Meaning and proof
Separate verifiable facts, quotations, interpretation, and claims; link each factual assertion to its source.
Defenses and response
Assess the relevant statutory defenses and publish any substantive response alongside updates.
Case-specific record
A claim concerning a publication attributed to the firm requires the publication itself, proof of circulation, source records, and the parties' responses.
Legal framework
The Prohibition of Defamation Law
What is defamation
Under section 1 of the Prohibition of Defamation Law, 5725-1965, defamation is a matter whose publication may humiliate a person in the eyes of others or make them a target of hatred, contempt or ridicule, or may harm them in their position, business or profession.
When words are a "publication"
Section 2 covers spoken words as well as writing, pictures and gestures. A publication intended for a person other than the injured party counts once it reached that person or anyone else besides the injured party.
Civil wrong and criminal offence
Under section 7 a defamatory publication is a civil wrong, and section 7A allows compensation without proof of damage. Under section 6 it is an offence only when made with intent to harm and to two or more people besides the injured party.
Defences
Section 13 lists permitted publications, among them statements by a party or counsel during a court session. Section 14 gives the truth defence where there was a public interest in the publication, and section 15 gives good-faith defences in the circumstances it lists.
A general summary for orientation, not legal advice. The binding text is the current version of the law.