Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat filed a libel lawsuit against Channel 12 News's Omri Maniv on Tuesday, seeking a total of NIS 12 million in damages, a statement from Barkat's office confirmed.
This represents the largest libel lawsuit in Israel's history, according to the statement.
Barkat is accusing Maniv of broadcasting a "false, negligent, and defamatory investigation" into Barkat. The claim contains 25 pages of documents, which it believes "dismantles all of Maniv's allegations, proving it is a chain of fundamental errors, distortion of facts, and the presentation of false representations - carried out while ignoring material information and facts, and with a blatant and severe deviation from the rules of journalism and professional ethics."
"Freedom of expression is not freedom to demean, and freedom of the press is not freedom to defame without basis. This time, Channel 12 chose the wrong target - and acted negligently. The limits of power will now have to be learned in court," the statement concluded.
Barkat's office released a summary of the claim.
It alleges that Maniv's investigation failed as he "did not investigate even a single fact."
"Instead of verification and validation, an artificial circumstantial link was created between random events, from which a story was woven that fits a pattern of personal, obsessive, multi-year persecution of Barkat," it added.
Barkat: Investigation was 'disgrace to journalism, platform giving it airtime'
The broadcast was a "disgrace to investigative journalism and to the platform that granted it 22 minutes of airtime," the claim alleges.
The alleged libelous "smear campaign" rests on three lies, which Barkat's attorneys claim they seek to dispute.
The first "lie" is that Barkat remains a shareholder and is actively involved in the activities of BRM and the companies in which it invests.
The claim states that Barkat has not been connected to the company for 24 years, has not visited its offices, does not know the managers, and transferred any shares he owned to his brother, Eli. It also states that he does not own any shares in any company, including those in which BRM invested.
The second "lie" is that BRM invested in shares of a news site, both to purchase political influence for Barkat and to serve as a conduit for transferring funds into his personal account through advertising in exchange for regulatory benefits.
The claim seeks to refute this by asserting that BRM did not invest in the news site, directly or indirectly.
The third "lie" is that Barkat made his fortune in Israel and maintains extensive local business ties that create a conflict of interest.
The claim attempts to refute this by presenting evidence that Barkat made his fortune in hi-tech through exits from companies including Check Point and Mobileye, among others.
It also refutes the allegation that Barkat has any business interests in the local economy and owes no favor to any local businessperson.
"The statement of claim exposes a pattern of lies, gross negligence, and deliberate malice on the part of Channel 12 News. This is not a journalistic mistake, but a fundamental and deep failure that stains journalism in Israel with a mark of disgrace," Barkat said.
"This is an unprecedented defamation lawsuit in both scope and severity. This is certainly one of the gravest cases in Israel of an obsessive, systematic, and ongoing media attack, including a series of publications that, through simple and readily available journalistic verification, would have immediately been shown to be fundamentally false," his attorney added.