‘Death to Arabs’ defamation: Ben-Gvir sues ex-minister for podcast remarks

Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit party sue former left-wing politician who said they promote violence against Arabs.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit party filed a defamation lawsuit against left-wing former politician and one-time defense minister Moshe “Boogie” Ya’alon, seeking 200,000 shekels ($53,000) in damages.

The lawsuit focuses on remarks Ya’alon made on the Haaretz podcast against the right-wing lawmaker, in which he claimed that Ben-Gvir promotes an extremist agenda and insinuated that he has an army of thugs supporting him.

“I see the ‘Death to Arabs’ slogans of Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the group that follows him,” Ya’alon said during the podcast.

In a media statement shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Ben-Gvir’s attorney, Yishai Gifman, said that Ya’alon’s words constitute defamation.

His statements were made “with the intention of harming the plaintiff,” Gifman said. “The remarks imply that [Ben-Gvir] supports the idea of ‘death to Arabs’ and that he has actually supported these chants, and that he has a ‘gang’ of followers [promoting this phrase], and that’s based on a lie.”

Gifman acknowledged that Ben-Gvir has taken a hard line against Arab terrorism and crime in Israel’s Arab sector, but stressed that the minister does not believe in discrimination towards the entire community.

It must “be made clear that [Ben-Gvir] repeatedly emphasizes at every opportunity that he does not include all Arabs, and that he advocates the death penalty for terrorists as opposed to all Arabs,” Gifman added.

Ben-Gvir and the Otzma Yehudit party “were directly harmed by the defendant’s advertisements, which aimed to harm the plaintiffs, blacken their names and bias public opinion against them. [Ya’alon] did this in a systematic way, with thought and intent to [do damage.]”

“If the failed former MK Ya’alon thinks that the immunity granted to him by the Knesset is eternal, he is bitterly mistaken,” Ben-Gvir said in a media statement.

“Ya’alon’s collection of lies and defamations will have a price. The days are over when the extreme left tells lies about the right-wing elected officials and they remain silent. We will meet in court.”

defamationDefense MinistryItamar Ben-GvirMoshe Ya'alonOtzma Yehudit