Yair Netanyahu ordered to pay $81K after losing libel suit to journalist

29 February 2020, 10:55 pm

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A court has ruled that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair, must pay former Walla news site editor Avi Alkalay NIS 286,000 ($81,900) in damages after losing a libel suit.

Netanyahu shared a post on Facebook that called Alkalay a “planted mole from the Wexner Foundation,” a group that the Netanyahu family accuses of funding left-wing NGOs and campaigns.

Alkalay’s attorney, Ron Levinthal, says in response: “It is regrettable that at first the defendant underestimated the plaintiff, posted things without reviewing them, and later disregarded the court and the law, and did not bother to file a defense. From a prime minister’s son, higher standards could be expected.”