A blow to the Likud:
Herzliya Magistrate's Court Judge Gilad Hess ruled today (Monday) that the Likud party, attorneys David Shimron and Yossi Cohen, as well as two employees of the then Prime Minister's residence, Ofra Shimoni and Amnon Zakai, will each compensate the head of the house. Former Balfour mani, Mani Naftali, will be compensated a total of NIS 191,000, for defamation offenses against him.
The judge wrote in his decision that Naftali was "valuable and reliable", but at the same time he himself was ordered to pay NIS 50,000 to Adv. Shulamit Eshbol after the lawsuit against her was rejected.
According to the lawsuit, in February 2015, the State Comptroller's report was published regarding the expenses of the Prime Minister's Residence, which included serious findings regarding the management of the expenses in Balfour.
Adv. David Shimron // Photo: Gideon Markovich,
The Likud and the other defendants, according to Naftali, dropped all responsibility for the increase in the residence's expenses - and following the same statements, he filed the lawsuit against them for defamation.
Judge Hess, who partially upheld the lawsuit, noted in the ruling that the auditor's report did not determine who was responsible for the increase in spending in 2012-2011. For expenses and the responsibility for their increase, and thus also Mani Naftali's partner, by virtue of his position as the direct supervisor of expenses.
The judge wrote his decision: "I found that not only did the defendants not prove that the plaintiff was an unreliable person and a great liar, but the evidence before me shows that the plaintiff is a valued and trustworthy person," Judge Hess wrote in the judgment, adding: On the plaintiff's actions the house pain in the official residence of the Prime Minister, but attacked the personality and values of the plaintiff as a person, and hence this is a significant injury.
The Prime Minister's Residence on Balfour Street // Archive photo: Contact,
"In the context of the materiality of the attack, it must be taken into account that this is a significant power gap - on the one hand an ordinary citizen, a public servant; on the other side are the Likud movement, the ruling party at the time, powerful and powerful lawyers and emissaries Hess.
In the end, the decision stipulates that the Likud will compensate Naftali with NIS 35,000, including fees, and attorney Yossi Cohen will compensate Naftali with NIS 90,000, including expenses and fees. Adv. David Shimron, who is responsible for only one publication and most of the lawsuit against him has been rejected, will pay ten thousand shekels and will not be charged with expenses. And fees.
