Israeli Arab advocacy activist Yosef Haddad filed a lawsuit this morning (Thursday) for NIS 350,000 against left-wing activist Yona Shaked for false publications that Shaked published about Haddad on social media.
The slanders against Haddad: "Financed by a Judo-Nazi organization"
Shaked published several fake publications on social networks according to which Haddad is hiding from the public that he is supported by the right-wing organization 'Im Tirtzu'. Some of Shaked's tweets cited in the indictment are - "They know you are funded by the Judo-Nazi organization 'Im Tirtzu' ", "The Arab of 'Im Tirtzu' has many fans", "You are an Israeli Arab who betrayed his people, you are the messenger of the oppressors of the Arabs".
The left-wing activist continued the toxic series of tweets and wrote: "Enough, enough, tired of the nonsense of 'Im Tirtzu' - they are the enemies of the people and this makes you, Yoseph Haddad, an enemy of the Zionist state as well," "Yoseph Haddad is not stupid, he is simply a mouthpiece of 'Im Tirtzu' - the organization that loves Arabs very much ... dead".
"The meaning of calling him a traitor may put his life in danger"
Following these tweets and many more, Haddad decided to sue Yona Shaked, and the lawsuit submitted to the Magistrate's Court in Kfar Saba, states: "Over a long period, the defendant published a large number of hate speech and gossip about the plaintiff to damage his business and his good name."
"The plaintiff is a member of the Arab society in Israel, a disabled IDF member working for the integration of the Israeli-Arab population as an integral part of Israeli society. By his being a member of Arab society, the meaning of calling him a traitor may lead to injury to him and danger to his life."
It was also stated in the lawsuit that an appeal was made to Yona Shaked, but he refused to compensate Haddad because "there are other people on the Internet who spread more despicable statements, so he does not intend to take responsibility for his statements."
The left-wing activist was stunned: "My words were an expression of opinion and criticism"
Yoseph Haddad is represented by prosecutor Ofir Omer, and in contrast, the left-wing activist asked for legal help on social media. In a tweet he published on his personal Twitter ('X') account, Shaked wrote: "My words were an expression of opinion and criticism in good faith. People are trying to make money in court - even though the court is not the appropriate arena for ideological-political wrangling. In any case, I need legal help."
Yoseph Haddad: "Whoever spreads lies will become a source of funding for my work"
In response, Yoseph Haddad said: "As a social activist, I encourage free discourse and political criticism for better or for worse. I am used to receiving a lot of criticism from all sides of the political spectrum and this is legitimate. However, every discourse and criticism has and should have clear boundaries, in discourse there is no place for violence, there is no place for incitement, and there is no place for blatant lies."
"I filed the lawsuit after a campaign of slander and lies on the part of the defendant, who tried to hurt me for a long time, compared me to someone who works with Judo-Nazi organizations, called me a traitor, a fake Arab, etc. After I asked him to stop and warned him, the lawsuit was filed."
"I will not allow anyone to harm me and my actions and falsely present me as someone who is acting on behalf of or funding one or another organization, I am neither a "fake Arab" nor a "traitor", I am an Arab Israeli citizen who is proud to be Arab and proud to be Israeli, works for the state on my behalf and calls for the full equality of rights and duties of all its citizens. Therefore, whoever spreads such lies about me will be sued and will himself become a source of funding for my work for the country."