Channel 12 planning to sue journalist who refers to network as ‘Al Jazeera 12’
TV channel demands pro-Netanyahu pundit Eli Zipori apologize publicly, pay compensation of NIS 1 million for social media posts it claims amount to libel
Channel 12 news announced on Sunday that it sent a letter to an Israeli journalist warning that it will be suing him for libel, after he referred to the channel as “Al Jazeera 12” in multiple social media posts.
In the letter, the channel demanded that investigative journalist Eli Zipori remove all posts referring to Channel 12 as Al Jazeera, publish a public apology and pay NIS 1 million shekels ($265,000).
“Comparing the news channel to Al Jazeera, a Qatari channel that has reported on Israel in a one-sided and inciteful manner from the day it was founded and that was recently shut down in Israel after it was ruled that it airs Hamas propaganda, is a severe and unparalleled libel that is only aimed at harming the news company and its reporters,” wrote Channel 12 in the letter.
The government decided to temporarily shutter Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel last month on the grounds that it had harmed national security. Police seized the Qatari’s broadcaster’s equipment and temporarily took it off the air in May.
Al Jazeera’s reporting is often anti-Israel, especially during the ongoing war in Gaza, and it has been accused by members of the government of serving as a mouthpiece for Hamas.
The letter further accused Zipori of engaging in many acts of libel against Channel 12 “while the State of Israel is at war following a cruel and unprecedented attack by Hamas” and while the channel’s reporters were covering the developments of the war.
Zipori, an editor, blogger and radio host, regularly writes posts on X and Facebook in which he refers to Channel 12 as “Al Jazeera 12.” He also refers to Channel 13 as “Al Jazeera 13” and the Kan public broadcaster as “Al Jazeera 11.”
In one such tweet, Zipori accused Channel 12 (as well as Channel 13 and Kan) of being part of a “criminal campaign” which he claimed was led by the Prosecutor’s Office. Zipori charged that the campaign was aimed at censoring testimonies given during a trial on the “submarines affair” which saw Israel purchase the vessels from a German shipbuilder in a deal that came under scrutiny for alleged corruption.
In another post, he accused Channel 12 of lying about how much reserve soldiers were costing Israel throughout the war in Gaza.
Shortly after Channel 12 announced that it was suing Zipori, he took to X to write that “Al Jazeera 12 is trying to shut me up.”
He later posted a response he had sent to Channel 12 via his lawyer.
“It’s unfortunate that during a war, the news company is busy trying to silence a reporter and his sacred rights to freedom of speech,” Zipori’s lawyer, Ohad Mehraz, wrote.
He added that Zipori would not pay Channel 12 “a single shekel” and that “the attempt to silence him” would not work. He also claimed that his client has a strong defense against the libel allegations, but will not provide details until Channel 12 files a lawsuit.
This is not the first time that Zipori has faced legal action for his activity on social media. In December, Hadas Klein, a key witness in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial, filed a defamation lawsuit against Zipori for a smear campaign she said he ran against her during the months she testified in the trial.
A staunch supporter of Netanyahu, Zipori was accused by Klein of trying to discredit her, turn her into a target for Israelis, and “damaging the process of her testimony.”
