The recordings came at a cost: the blow suffered by Yaakov Bardugo and Galei Israel in the district court
The Tel Aviv District Court rejected the appeals of Yaakov Bardugo, Noam Fathi, Yotam Zamiri, and the radio stations Galei Israel and Radio Darom against their obligation to pay compensation to journalist Raviv Drucker for libel. Drucker's appeal was partially accepted, and the compensation was increased by 60,000 shekels to 210,000 shekels.
The Tel Aviv District Court today (Thursday) rejected the appeals of Yaakov Bardugo, Noam Fathi, Yotam Zamiri, and the radio stations Galei Israel and Radio Darom against a ruling that obligated them to pay compensation to journalist Raviv Drucker for libel. Conversely, Drucker's appeal was partially accepted, and the compensation was increased by 60,000 shekels to a total of 210,000 shekels. The ruling was given by a panel of three judges headed by Judge Einat Ravid. The affair began in June 2021, after Drucker published an article in which he said he had received recordings that could embarrass Benny Gantz but did not publish them. Bardugo, Fathi, and Zamiri claimed on air that this constituted extortion by threats. The court ruled that the statements exceeded the bounds of expressing an opinion and constituted libel, and that Bardugo acted with intent to harm. The compensation was increased due to the publication of the recordings on the stations' websites, even though Drucker did not prove the extent of exposure.