Israeli television presenter Lucy Aharish has filed three separate defamation lawsuits against social media users who posted what she describes as false, inciting, racist and hateful content about her on Facebook, Instagram and X.
The first lawsuit, seeking 350,000 shekels in damages, targets Herzl Golan, a Tel Aviv resident. According to the complaint, Golan called Aharish a series of harsh names including "terrorist," "supporter of Nazi terror," and "an Arab who supports the extermination of the Jewish people." The suit further alleges that Golan went so far as to attribute future murder of Jews to Aharish's young son.
The lawsuit states that the posts were intended to humiliate Aharish based on racist motives and because she is not Jewish, as well as in response to her journalistic statements.
A second lawsuit, for 100,000 shekels, was filed against Meir Zuberman, also a Tel Aviv resident. The complaint alleges Zuberman called Aharish a "pathetic terrorist troublemaker of Israel" and wished for her to "move to Gaza," claiming she is not a legitimate citizen but an enemy of the people. According to the suit, Zuberman chose to ignore a warning letter sent to him demanding he remove the posts and publish an apology.
The third lawsuit, seeking 70,000 shekels, is against Merav Wexler, a Haifa resident who serves as an arbitrator, mediator and rabbinical advocate. Aharish claims Wexler called her a "terrorist supporter" in Instagram comments. After receiving a warning letter that included a settlement offer of 12,000 shekels, Wexler deleted the posts but refused to compensate the plaintiff. Wexler argues that the comments were written emotionally as part of an active public discourse, and that their removal demonstrates her good faith and "good citizenship."
Aharish's attorney, Amit Mor, rejects these arguments and emphasizes that the content of the statements indicates a lack of good faith, and that removing posts out of fear of a lawsuit can never constitute good citizenship.
No defense statements have been filed in any of the three cases.
