Protest leader Shikma Bresler filed a defense and counterclaim with the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court today (Wednesday) in a defamation lawsuit filed against her by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In her defense, Bresler claims that this is a "clear silencing lawsuit," intended to deter the public from expressing a position regarding the Prime Minister's conduct toward Qatar - an issue that she claims is of crucial public importance.
Last April, the Prime Minister sued protest leader Shika Bresler for half a million shekels over a series of publications accusing him of accepting bribes from Qatar. The lawsuit he filed stated, among other things, that Bresler's publication "undermines the foundations of proper governance and democracy." Upon filing the lawsuit, the protest leader turned to the protesters who had donated their money and in less than an hour raised half a million shekels to finance her defense.
In the defense, which the protest leader submitted through her lawyer, Attorney Idan Seger, she claims that her words were based on media publications and therefore do not constitute 'defamation' after being exposed to millions. According to her, she is being sued by the Prime Minister only in an attempt to 'terrorize citizens and prevent critical discussion' since she sees the words as questions dealing with the transfer of funds from Qatar to the Gaza Strip, and the business ties of his close advisors with Qatar. The protest leader also ties the words to the closure of an intelligence unit that focused on investigating terrorist financing. She alludes to a conspiracy according to which the Prime Minister disbanded the unit in question in order to enable terrorist financing.
Along with the defense, the protest leader also filed a "counterclaim" for 335,000 shekels, claiming that Netanyahu spread serious lies about her, including accusations that she and other protest leaders called for bloodshed and the assassination of the prime minister. The protest leader claims that these are false allegations that contradict her consistent position calling for non-violent protest. She also claims in the lawsuit that the prime minister claimed that her partner shared sensitive information about the prime minister's agenda with the protesters through her - a claim she denies.
Bresler's lawyer, Idan Seger, also said: "The defamation lawsuit filed against Prof. Bresler is a transparent attempt by the Prime Minister to silence the necessary public discourse regarding his ties with Qatar. It will lead to the opposite result. The counterclaim is a reminder that in the State of Israel, no one is still immune from the law, and even a prime minister must bear responsibility for the lies and incitement he spreads."