gilad atzmon lost his court case (in effect)

Scris de **Admin** Mier Iul 04, 2018 11:19 am

https://niqnaq.wordpress.com/2018/07/04/gilad-atzmon-lost-his-court-case-in-effect/

Falter vs Atzmon: Update
Gilad Atzmon, Jul 2 2018

Dear friends and supporters,
As you know, three months ago I was sued in the High Court of England by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism’s Chairman Gideon Falter regarding a paper that I published on my website. I asked for your support and was thrilled to find out how vast and kind your support was. Before the trial could begin, the court held a preliminary hearing to do with the meaning of the words of my article. There was a dispute between the sides about how far my words went, and what the allegations I made were. This dispute had to be resolved by the court before the actual trial could take place. The judge in the case, Mr Justice Nicklin, applied his own meaning to my article at the preliminary hearing, which included a ruling from him that my article claimed that the funds collected by Mr Falter and the CAA were obtained by “fraud” on Mr Falter’s part. I did not (and do not) believe that Mr Falter was motivated by fraud and I do not think that there is anything I said that suggested it. However, I have to accept the ruling that the court made. Even taking the case to this point had been costly on both a financial and personal level, and after this ruling it was clear to me that I had no option but to apologise and settle the case. The overall battle for free speech has been very expensive and it is probably far from over. The case has re-confirmed to me the crucial importance of freedom of expression and the restrictions imposed on it by the libel courts in this country. Despite what has been suggested earlier today by Mr Falter in a press release, the court didn’t make any finding that I myself am an anti-Semite.
Thank you again for your support.

Gilad Atzmon is forced to apologise to CAA’s Gideon Falter over libel
Ben Welch, JC.com, Jul 2 2018

An Israeli jazz musician and author was forced to deliver an apology in the High Court to the chairman of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism after accusing him of personally profiting from fabricating antisemitic incidents. Gilad Atzmon had to deliver the apology to CAA chairman Gideon Falter on Monday. Mr Atzmon, who is known for challenging Holocaust denial legislation, published the allegations on his website last year under the headline Antisemitism is Merely a Business Plan. The CAA then sued him for libel. The CAA said Mr Atzmon’s attack on the CAA was in response to its efforts to have the jazz saxophonist banned from music venues. After just two hours of argument in a hearing on May 22, High Court Justice Matthew Nicklin issued a preliminary ruling saying that Mr Atzmon had deliberately accused Mr Falter of “dishonestly fabricating antisemitic incidents, and deliberately exaggerating the prevalence of antisemitism and antisemitic activity.” Mr Atzmon, who has also claimed that the Grenfell Tower tragedy was the responsibility of “Jerusalemites” who were “following mitzvot,” was not present at the High Court on Monday. He instructed his solicitor, Jeffrey Smele, to deliver his apology. The sum he will be ordered to pay, in legal costs and damages, is believed to run into tens of thousands of pounds. In his statement, read out in open court, Mr Atzmon acknowledged that the allegation was false. He agreed not to republish it and to pay damages to Mr Falter. After the ruling, Mr Falter denied that he had “earned a penny” from his work with CAA, which he has chaired for four years. He added:

We are often accused by anti-Semites of seeking to stifle criticism of Israel or of making antisemitic incidents up. I am delighted I have been able to set the record straight and expose one such anti-Semitic liar for what he truly is.

Gilad Atzmon says sorry for libelling Campaign Against Anti-Semitism’s chairman
Jenni Frazer, Times of Israel, Jul 2 2018

The Israeli-born jazz musician Gilad Atzmon was obliged to make a humiliating apology in the High Court on Monday after having libelled the chairman of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, Gideon Falter. But Atzmon, whose costs and damages are understood to have run into tens of thousands of pounds, was not in court himself, instead obliging his solicitor, Jeffrey Smele, to speak on his behalf. Atzmon had used his website for five months between Jul-Dec 2017 to publish a series of allegations against Mr Falter under the title “Antisemitism is merely a business plan.” He claimed that Mr Falter had dishonestly fabricated anti-Semitic incidents in order to profit personally and to support the activities of the CAA. At an earlier hearing Atzmon’s lawyers attempted to claim that the words complained of in the libel action were not did not mean what Mr Falter said they meant, but this claim was dismissed by Judge Nicklin. Instead, as Mr Falter’s counsel, William Bennett, made clear:

The allegations were false. They were hugely insulting to Mr Falter and caused him significant consternation. To make such allegations against a Jew and someone who uses his free time to lead an organisation committed to fighting anti-Semitism was offensive to Mr Falter.

In his statement, read out in open court, Atzmon acknowledged that the allegations were false, agreed not to republish, and to pay damages to Mr Falter. Nevertheless Atzmon made one last-ditch attempt to defend his actions, instructing his solicitor to say that he had “never in fact intended that his article would suggest to the reader that Mr Falter was a ‘fraudster’ or that he personally profited from his position at the CAA.” He offered a “sincere apology” to Mr Falter for his actions. Mr Falter told Jewish News he was “not surprised that Atzmon had not shown his face in court.” He said:

For four years, I have led Campaign Against Antisemitism without earning a penny from it and at enormous personal and financial cost to myself. I am proud that we have built an organisation with great integrity to lead the fight against antisemitism in Britain. We are often accused by antisemites of seeking to stifle criticism of Israel or of making antisemitic incidents up, and I am delighted that through the work of libel lawyers Mark Lewis and William Bennett I have been able to set the record straight and expose one such antisemitic liar for what he truly is.

In a statement after the verdict, Falter said:

For four years, I have led Campaign Against Antisemitism without earning a penny from it and at enormous personal and financial cost to myself. I am proud that we have built an organisation with great integrity to lead the fight against antisemitism in Britain. We are often accused by antisemites of seeking to stifle criticism of Israel or of making antisemitic incidents up, and I am delighted that through the work of libel lawyers Mark Lewis and William Bennett I have been able to set the record straight and expose one such antisemitic liar for what he truly is.