Liberman wins defamation case against activist who claimed he sought to kill cop

The Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court on Thursday ordered former Yisrael Beytenu activist Yossi Kamisa to pay the party and its chairman, Avigdor Liberman, NIS 200,000 ($60,600) in damages for defamation over an unsubstantiated 2022 claim that Liberman had offered him $100,000 to kill a police superintendent.

In a social media post, Kamisa claimed that Liberman made the offer to him 20 years ago, an allegation that Liberman emphatically denied and alleged had been orchestrated by then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu to smear him ahead of that year’s November 1 elections.

Liberman called Netanyahu “the scum of the human race who knows no red lines,” for allegedly setting up the pay-for-murder accusation.

In addition, Kamisa alleged that Liberman had operated a Jericho casino whose proceedings benefited terror organizations, and that he’d had secret business dealings in Congo.

He also claimed Liberman’s ostensible connections to former attorney general Yehuda Weinstein had helped him evade the law in various criminal cases in which he was probed throughout his years in politics.

Liberman was indicted in December 2012 over accusations of illegally using his clout as foreign minister to promote former ambassador to Latvia Ze’ev Ben Aryeh, allegedly as a reward for Ben Aryeh leaking to Liberman details of a corruption investigation against him. He was acquitted of fraud and breach of trust charges by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court in November 2013.

Responding to Kamisa’s claims, Liberman filed a complaint of criminal defamation in September 2022, declaring that he “did not approach the accused and offer him any amount in order to commit a murder.”

The claims are “defamation, absolute lies, which were published with the intention of causing political damage when the political establishment is in the midst of an election campaign,” according to the complaint that was filed by Liberman’s lawyers on his behalf.

Following the court’s ruling against him, Kamisa was given a six-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to compensate Liberman NIS 190,000 ($57,600) and Yisrael Beytenu NIS 10,000 ($3,000), respectively, through a series of 20 monthly payments starting in January 2026.

“The court ruled that Kamisa’s version was unreliable, and MK Liberman’s testimony was found reliable. It was also determined that Kamisa knowingly spread false statements during an election period, thereby harming the democratic process,” Yisrael Beytenu said in a statement.

“The truth is stronger than any lie. Even when there are those who try to run campaigns of slander and blood libels, in the end justice is revealed,” Liberman declared following the ruling.

Kamisa was not required by the court to apologize for his statements.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.