Is calling rightist a ‘Shin Bet agent’ libelous?

Barry Chamish, owner of several internet websites, was ordered Thursday by the Magistrates’ Court to pay extreme right-wing activist Itamar Ben-Gvir NIS 36,000 (about $10,000) for referring to the latter as a Shin Bet agent on one of his sites.

Magistrates’ Court Judge Oded Shaham ruled that this statement is libelous in nature, and ordered Chamish to pay Ben-Gvir the aforementioned sum in damages.

According to the court’s verdict, on April 15, 2005, Hamish published an article on his website entitled “Eskins Folly”.

In the aforementioned article, Hamish stated that “Ben Gvir is clearly …a Shin Bet agent, a provocateur. He had committed criminal offenses so many times over…. He is on trial every other month but is always acquitted on some technicality…” Several additional articles in this vane are furthermore quoted in the verdict.

Judge Sahahm noted that “these publications portrayed Ben-Gvir as a dishonest and dangerous man. Ben-Gvir was deemed a traitor to his right-wing cause in these articles, and was even accused of committing fraud.

"Some of these articles indicate that Ben-Gvir, while apparently opposed to the Gaza pullout, worked actively to thwart all opposition to the disengagement, and others even stated that he convinced a man to stone an innocent bystander to death. All of these assertions undoubtedly constitute libel.”

In reaction to the verdict Ben-Gvir stated, “ I have no doubt that some of the malicious rumors circulating about me originated from Shin Bet, and were designed to cause rifts and arguments.

"I never, however, stopped working on behalf of the Jewish people and the ;and of Israel, irrespective of how hard the Left has tired to stop me.”