Reputation · Updated:

Defamation and Reputation

Protecting a good name under Israeli law: a publication that may degrade or harm a person, once it reaches someone other than that person, can carry damages with no need to prove any actual loss.

In short

Under section 7A of the Prohibition of Defamation Law, a court may award damages without proof of loss up to a CPI-linked ceiling: ILS 84,437.40 as at 16 September 2026 (restated on the 16th of each month), doubled where intent to harm is proven. The claimant must show a publication that may degrade or harm them (section 1) and that reached another person (section 2). Truth is not an element but a defence, and only with public interest (section 14).

Office in Kiryat Ono, in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area; Hebrew and English.

Someone published a lie about you online — what now?

A false Facebook post. A fabricated Google review. An article built on incorrect facts. In under 24 hours, thousands of people may have seen it, and the reputation you spent years building can be damaged in seconds.

The Prohibition of Defamation Law, 5725-1965, protects the right to a good name. Section 7A(b) empowers a court to award damages with no need to prove loss, in a sum not exceeding ILS 50,000, and section 7A(c) allows that sum to be doubled where it is proven that the publication was made with intent to harm. Importantly, under section 7A(e) these amounts are updated on the 16th of every month, linked to the Consumer Price Index against a September 1998 base — so the currently applicable figure is significantly higher than the number written in the statute itself. The amount that applies on any given date has to be calculated against the index for the month preceding the update, relative to that base index. As at the update of 16 September 2026, the ceiling is ILS 84,437.40, and ILS 168,874.80 where intent to harm is proven.

Two caveats worth knowing before filing a claim: this is a ceiling, not an entitlement — the statute says a court "may" award damages "not exceeding" that sum; and under section 7A(d), statutory damages without proof of loss can be awarded only once for the same defamatory publication. And before any of that — you need to understand what has to be proven, and what defences stand on the other side.

Section 7A is available in English on the key statutory provisions page (unofficial translation; the Hebrew text governs).

What has to be proven in a defamation claim

A damaging publication (section 1). Something whose publication may degrade a person, expose them to contempt, or harm them in their business or profession. Truth is not part of the cause of action but a defence that the defendant has to prove (section 14), and the line between fact and opinion matters mainly for the defences. "I don't like their service" is an opinion. "They defrauded me on the invoice" is a factual allegation that can amount to defamation if it is untrue.

Harm to reputation. The statement must be capable of lowering the person's standing in the eyes of the public, causing people to keep away from them, harming their business, or exposing them to contempt.

Publication to a third party. It is enough that one person other than the person defamed read or heard it. A post on an open social network usually meets this, because it is enough that the writing may have reached someone else (section 2(b)(2)).

A connection to the person defamed. The public needs to understand that the statement refers to you. Your name need not be mentioned — it is enough that you can be identified.

What defences are available to a defendant

Before filing a claim, it is essential to understand the defences on the other side. The most common:

Truth (section 14). Not an absolute defence: it requires two cumulative conditions — that what was published was true, and that the publication was in the public interest. Truth without public interest is not enough. The defence is not lost merely because the truth of a side detail that causes no real harm was not proven, and the burden of proving it falls on the defendant.

Criticism and opinion in good faith (section 15). Section 15(6) protects good-faith criticism of a work, or of an act the injured person did in public, and section 15(4) protects an expression of opinion on a person's conduct in a public role or in connection with a public matter. "This restaurant is bad" is an opinion. "This restaurant is poisoning its customers" is a factual allegation, and has to meet the truth test.

Duty and legitimate interest. Section 15(2) protects a publication that the relationship between the publisher and the recipient made a legal, moral or social duty, and section 15(3) a publication made to protect a legitimate personal interest. Section 15(8) protects a complaint to the competent authority — but not publicising it outside that channel.

Permitted publications (section 13). A closed list of publications that cannot ground a claim at all — among them statements made in the course of proceedings before a judge or a commission of inquiry, and publications by the Government or the State Comptroller. On the other side, section 16(b) presumes bad faith where what was published was untrue and the publisher took no reasonable steps beforehand to check whether it was true.

Defamation on social media — critical points

A social media platform does not protect someone who writes lies. The platform may remove the publication — but that does not erase the harm already caused, and it does not release the author from liability.

Who is liable for a defamatory publication online? The author — certainly. The platform — not as a matter of course: section 11 imposes special liability on a "media outlet", which section 11(c) defines as a newspaper and radio and television broadcasts to the public, and social networks are not mentioned in that definition. Someone who shared it — every further distribution may itself be a "publication" under section 2, and under section 19(1) the court may take into account in the defendant's favour that it only repeated what had already been said and named its source.

Evidence to preserve immediately: a screenshot showing the date and time, the URL, and the name of the profile that published it. Publications get deleted — evidence preserved at the time is the foundation of the claim.

What to preserve, how to get a post or a WhatsApp message removed and what a court may award are set out on the defamation on Facebook and WhatsApp page.

How much can be recovered in a defamation claim

The law allows damages with no need to prove loss — up to the statutory ceiling per publication (see the CPI-indexing point above). Where actual loss is proven — lost business, lost customers, psychological harm — the amount can be considerably higher.

A court weighs the severity of the publication, the extent of the harm, the publisher's intent, and whether an apology was made. Under section 19(4), an apology, correction or denial — published in the same place and manner as the original, and without reservation — is a matter the court may take into account in the defendant's favour.

How this practice handles defamation matters

Yaron Meiri, Adv. & CPA handles defamation matters from both sides:

  • Claimants: filing suit, an urgent injunction to remove the publication, and a claim for damages.
  • Defendants: building a defence — truth, fair comment, public interest.
  • Reputation crisis management: sometimes the right response is not a lawsuit at all, but a strategic reply that protects the reputation without generating litigation.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between defamation and slander?

Israeli law draws no formal distinction between spoken and written defamation — both are covered by the single Prohibition of Defamation Law. Some other legal systems (English law, for example) distinguish libel from slander; Israeli law does not.

Is a negative review of a business defamation?

Not necessarily. Good-faith criticism of a service, or of an act done in public, can be protected even if it is harsh (sections 15(4) and 15(6)). Attributing an untrue damaging fact, without reasonable checking before publication, may amount to defamation (section 16(b)).

How long do I have to file a claim?

The Prohibition of Defamation Law sets no limitation period of its own. Defamation is a civil wrong under section 7 of that Law, so the general period applies: seven years under section 5(1) of the Prescription Law, 5718-1958, from the day the cause of action arose. Even so, do not wait — evidence disappears, posts are edited or deleted, and a request for interim relief is far easier to justify while the harm is fresh.

Can I demand that the publication be removed?

Yes. Section 9 of the Law allows the court to prohibit the distribution of the publication or order copies confiscated, and to order a correction, a denial or the judgment to be published at the defendant's expense; section 10 allows an interim order to publish a correction even before judgment, where the defendant admits that part of what was published is defamatory or untrue. Alongside the proceedings, the platform's own reporting mechanisms can be used under its terms of use.

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Legal framework and sources

Checked against the current statutory text in September 2026. The sources above are in Hebrew; the Hebrew text is the governing text of the law. This information is general and is not legal advice.

This page is general information about Israeli defamation law, written for English-speaking readers. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and is no substitute for advice on your own facts. The statutory damages ceiling is adjusted for inflation on the 16th of each month (section 7A(e)); this page gives both the base amounts in the statute and the figures as at 16 September 2026. The governing text of every statute cited is the Hebrew original. Past results do not guarantee similar results in the future.

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