Rothman Ruling: The Secret Alliance Between the Court and Channel 12

An opinion piece by Prof. Moshe Cohen-Eliya analyzes the ruling of Judge Oren Silverman, who dismissed the defamation lawsuit of MK Simcha Rothman against Guy Peleg and Channel 12 News. The author argues that the decision reveals a secret alliance between the judiciary, the Ministry of Justice, and Channel 12, working to preserve the old hegemony. He points to contradictions in the reasoning, selective use of doubt, and a pattern of granting legal immunity to the mainstream media.

An opinion piece by Prof. Moshe Cohen-Eliya, an expert in constitutional law and founder of "Masad Ha'aretz," analyzes the ruling of Judge Oren Silverman, who dismissed the defamation lawsuit of MK Simcha Rothman against Guy Peleg and Channel 12 News. The author argues that the decision is not merely a legal ruling but reveals a secret alliance between the judiciary, the Ministry of Justice, and Channel 12, working to preserve the old hegemony. He points to contradictions in the reasoning: the ruling admits that no referent presented an original record and that the defendants did not investigate the issue, yet it still gives reinforcing weight to a record whose source was not proven. The testimony of attorney Gur Blay, which supported Rothman's position, is pushed aside. The judge refrained from ordering Peleg to pay costs due to difficulties in his testimony, but still ruled that he proved "I spoke the truth." The author compares this to previous cases (Ilanah Dayan, Yifat Ben Hai Segev) and points to a pattern of granting broad legal immunity to Channel 12. He calls on Rothman to appeal, not only for his good name but to hold a mirror to the entire mechanism.