Miri Regev sued by Facebook user, not protected by immunity

Because minister recently filed suit against user who called her a ‘whore,’ court says she can’t claim parliamentary protection from counter-suit

By Jonathan Beck 2 July 2015, 1:19 am

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Culture Minister Miri Regev speaks at an award ceremony for Israeli theater, in Tel Aviv, on June 19, 2015. (FLASH90)

Culture Minister Miri Regev will not be able to fall back on her parliamentary immunity to protect her from a civil lawsuit — because she sued first, an Israeli court ruled Wednesday.

Regev (Likud) filed a libel lawsuit several months ago against an Israeli who called her a “whore with a filthy mouth” on Facebook. Regev was acting based on recent libel legislation which allows citizens to sue for up to NIS 330,000 (almost $90,000) in damages without needing to prove that the libel in question actually affected the complainant.

The man decided to counter-sue, and Regev said that her parliamentary immunity protects her. On Wednesday, the Haifa District Court rejected the claim and said she cannot be protected by her immunity in this case.

“When an MK decides of her own volition to take legal action, it will be incorrect to limit the defendant’s recourse to the law, who is allowed – as part of his defense against the lawsuit – to counter-sue,” a panel of three judges wrote.

The man took to slamming Regev on Facebook after she posted parts of an interview on Channel 1 in which she criticized former president Shimon Peres for his comments on Israel’s 2014 war against Hamas in Gaza.

“Miri Regev! Let me tell you something! Who the hell do you think you are to talk shit against Shimon Peres? You’re just a whore with a filthy mouth!!! You took [on] way more [than] you’re supposed to, you illiterate miserable person!!!”

Regev’s lawyers were swift to act and sent the man a letter demanding an apology. When he refused, they filed the lawsuit.

In his defense, the man said that by making public the letter demanding an apology, Regev exposed his home address. Following the publication of his address on Facebook, the man says his “life became a nightmare, and [he] had to escape the apartment and hire a security guard.” The man sued for the same sum – NIS 330,000.

Regev asked that the counter-suit be thrown out on account of her immunity. The court rejected her claim.

The minister came under a firestorm of criticism in recent weeks over her threats to withdraw subsidies from cultural institutions and productions she considered “unpatriotic.”