A Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court last week rejected a motion by Eli Tzipori and Avi Weiss to dismiss the indictment against them before evidence is heard in their witness intimidation case. The two are charged with publishing the home address of Hadas Klein, a prosecution witness in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial.
According to the indictment, Tzipori, who runs a blog covering Netanyahu's trial among other topics, published a photograph of Klein's home front alongside her address in July 2022. The post stated: "Look at this woman's hypocrisy: Hadas Klein, who played the victim in her testimony saying she bears the family burden and 'was at risk of being fired,' lives in a villa in Herzliya valued at 10 million shekels."
Weiss, editor of the TelecomNews website, is accused of posting a screenshot from the 144 website showing Klein's full address details in response, and of sharing Tzipori's post on his Twitter account and website.
Defense attorneys for both men argued that the actions described in the indictment do not constitute an offense, or alternatively amount to a trivial matter. They further claimed the indictment was filed as part of selective enforcement, noting that other journalists were not prosecuted for publications concerning witnesses in Netanyahu's trial.
The prosecution clarified that Tzipori was not charged for his criticism of Klein, but rather for publishing her address. The court noted that the prosecution's position implies the address publication could be interpreted as saying "we know where you live," in a manner that might raise concerns people would come to her home.
However, Judge Itai Harmelin's decision stated that the question of how to interpret the statements, and whether the defendants were aware of their meaning at the time of publication, should be clarified during the trial rather than in preliminary arguments.
