Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s family sued former prime minister Ehud Olmert for alleged defamation, including NIS 837,000 in damages, for statements against them in two recent interviews.
One interview was on April 12 to Democrat TV, and the second was on April 21 on the Ophira and Berkowitz TV program.
During the first interview, Olmert called the Netanyahu family “mentally ill.”
Within days, the Netanyahus had threatened to sue Olmert for NIS 1 million if he did not retract his statement.
Olmert then doubled down during the second interview, explicitly refusing to retract and laughing when one of his interviewers warned him he might be losing NIS 1 million.
Olmert’s initial comment during the interview with Democrat TV heavily criticized the current government and its conduct during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We had NIS 100 billion to hand out as unpaid leave grants... if we had invested 10% of that in the public health system in the past two or three years, we would be in a completely different situation,” he exclaimed.
Olmert also expressed optimism in establishing a government without Netanyahu, noting that “the Likud is losing its power,” and that New Hope head Gideon Sa’ar would keep his word and not support any coalition with Netanyahu.
Olmert’s positive approach did not extend to Netanyahu himself. “What can’t be fixed is the mental illness of the prime minister and his wife and son,” said Olmert, adding that “under regular circumstances any psychiatrist with a healthy conscience... would tell you that they need to be hospitalized. They are sick people.”
Netanyahu family lawyer Yossi Cohen responded to Olmert in Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, saying: “It is hard to overstate the level of wickedness, maliciousness and despicableness in your comments that include premeditated and serious slander meant to humiliate and scorn my clients, while making them a cause for ridicule and contempt in the eyes of the public and to damage their positions.”
Olmert has openly criticized Netanyahu and his government over the past few years, saying that Netanyahu is responsible for destroying Israeli democracy.