Court rejects request by journalist ordered to pay Netanyahus NIS 100,000 for libel

The Tel Aviv District Court rejects a request by journalist Igal Sarna to hold a special hearing on his appeal against a ruling that he pay Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara NIS 100,000 ($28,300) in a defamation suit.

In June, the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court ordered Sarna to pay the sum over a libelous claim he made in a Facebook post that a domestic dispute led to the prime minister being booted from his car on the side of a highway.

Sarna had argued that due to the “extraordinary circumstances and consequences” of a prime minister suing a journalist, the appeal must receive special status and be heard by a full bench of three justices.

But the court disagreed and ordered the appeal proceedings to advance as normal with just one judge. The case will be heard next month.

— Raoul Wootliff