Prohibition of Defamation Law: the sections this site discusses

Related service: Defamation lawyer · Defamation on Facebook and WhatsApp · A false Google review of your business

What defamation is under the law

The definition of defamation in section 1 of the Law is broad. It covers any publication that may humiliate or degrade a person in the eyes of others, harm their work, occupation or business, or degrade them because of their race, origin, religion, place of residence, age, sex, sexual orientation or disability. The test is objective: could the publication harm a reasonable person in the eyes of the public? It is not only subjective, from the injured person’s point of view. The publication can be in writing, oral, in a picture or by any other means, provided it reached at least one person other than the injured person. For a publication in writing, it is enough that the writing could have reached such a person (section 2(b)).

Defamation law: civil wrong, offense and defenses

Publishing defamation to one or more persons other than the injured person is a civil wrong that entitles the injured person to compensation (section 7). Publishing it with intent to harm to two or more persons other than the injured person is also a criminal offense (section 6). The Law has defenses that reduce or remove liability in certain circumstances. Examples are a true publication that is in the public interest (section 14), and a publication in good faith in one of the circumstances listed in section 15, including expressing an opinion on the injured person’s conduct in a public matter. There is also section 19, headed “Mitigation”, which allows the court to take mitigating circumstances into account when it decides on the remedy.

A numerical example

An employee posted on social media, without checking or any basis, a claim that his former employer “cheats customers and doesn’t pay its workers”. The employer sued for defamation. Even without proving an actual drop in the number of customers, the employer can claim statutory compensation up to the index-linked ceiling (NIS 84,038.36 as of 16 October 2026), without proving any damage at all. If the employer proves that the publication was made with intent to harm, for example that the employee knew the statements were untrue, the ceiling is double the amount: NIS 168,076.72 (as of the update of 16 October 2026).

Defamation by what happened: the guides on this site

• How much compensation you can get and what you need to prove: A defamation claim: amounts and compensation without proof of damage
• A post, a comment or a message in a group: Defamation on Facebook and WhatsApp
• A website, a forum, search results or an anonymous user: Defamation on the internet
• A review of your business: A false Google review of your business
• Before you sue: A warning letter before a defamation claim
• Filing a claim: Which court, and what to write
• You received a warning letter or a statement of claim: Sued for defamation? The defenses and the first steps

Do you want a lawyer to review the publication? Representation in defamation claims, for injured persons and for those who were sued. A map of the whole field: The main guide: defamation and reputation.

The sections the site discusses

This page collects 3 sections of the Prohibition of Defamation Law that are discussed in 6 guides on this site. The title of each section is the marginal note of the consolidated version of the Law (unofficial translation), not a heading we wrote. The last column links to the guides on this site that discuss that section.

The original text of the law

• Prohibition of Defamation Law, 5725-1965: the text of the Law
• Prohibition of Defamation Law: consolidated version on Nevo

FAQ

What counts as defamation under the law?
A publication that may humiliate a person, degrade them, harm them in their work or occupation, or degrade them because of their race, origin, religion, place of residence, age, sex, sexual orientation or disability (section 1 of the Prohibition of Defamation Law). The test is objective, that of a reasonable person, and there is no need to prove actual damage.

What is “libel” (hotza’at diba), and how is it different from defamation?
There is no legal difference. “Libel” (hotza’at diba) is a common name, but the term does not appear in the Prohibition of Defamation Law, 5725-1965. The Law uses the term lashon hara (“defamation”) and defines it in section 1. A claim “for libel” is therefore a claim for the civil wrong in section 7: publishing defamation to one or more persons other than the injured person. A “publication” includes something said orally, in writing, in print or by any other means (section 2(a)). The difference between speech and writing concerns when words count as a publication. In writing, it is enough that the writing could, in the circumstances, have reached a person other than the injured person (section 2(b)(2)). For oral statements, the alternative in the Law is that they were intended for a person other than the injured person and reached that person or another person other than the injured person (section 2(b)(1)).

How much compensation can you get in a defamation claim without proving damage?
Section 7A of the Law states NIS 50,000, and double that amount if intent to harm the injured person was proved. But these are base amounts from 1998: section 7A(e) links them to the consumer price index and updates them on the 16th of every month. As of the update of 16 October 2026, the ceiling under section 7A(b) is NIS 84,038.36, and under section 7A(c) it is NIS 168,076.72.

Is defamation a criminal offense or a civil wrong?
Both. Publishing defamation to one or more persons other than the injured person is a civil wrong that entitles the injured person to compensation (section 7). Publishing it with intent to harm to two or more persons other than the injured person is an offense punishable by one year’s imprisonment (section 6).

Are there defenses against a defamation claim?
Yes. Section 13 lists “privileged publications”, which cannot be grounds for a claim at all. They include a publication by a judge, a party, their lawyer or a witness in the course of a judicial proceeding (section 13(5)). Section 14 protects a true publication that was in the public interest. Section 15 protects a person who published in good faith in one of the circumstances it lists. These include a legal, moral or social duty to publish, protecting a legitimate personal interest, expressing an opinion on the injured person’s conduct in a public role or in connection with a public matter, and a complaint to the competent authority. However, a person who published something untrue without taking reasonable steps to check it before publication is presumed to have acted not in good faith (section 16(b)(2)). Section 19 (“Mitigation”) allows the court to take into account, in the defendant’s favor, for example an apology published in the same place, to the same extent and in the same way as the defamation, without reservation.

This page collects the references to legislation on the site. The section headings are the marginal notes as worded in the consolidated text of the law, and are not our interpretation. The binding text is the one published in Sefer HaHukim (the official gazette of statutes). The content here is general information and is not legal advice. Translated: 12 November 2026 · Hebrew version updated: 28 October 2026.