The trial over a defamation lawsuit brought by Benjamin Netanyahu against Ehud Olmert opened Monday with reprimands from the judge against both former Israeli prime ministers.
The lawsuit, seeking about $267,000 in damages, stems from comments Olmert made during two televised interviews in April 2021 in which he said Netanyahu and members of his family were "mentally ill" and needed psychiatric treatment -- then later refused to walk back the comments.
The defamation trial of #Israel's former prime minister Benjamin @Netanyahu and his family against former prime minister Ehud #Olmert opened on Monday.https://t.co/zr2Vmzv3Df
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) January 10, 2022
"What can't be fixed is the mental illness of the prime minister and his wife and son. That's not fixable," Olmert had said during an interview with DemocraTV.
Judge Amit Yariv said during the trial that he did not believe the comments were even an issue the court should examine, the Times of Israel reported, and said it was "unfortunate that a painful subject such as mental illness is being taken and turned into a circus."
"I followed their actions, I heard recordings of the family, I conferred with experts and people who are associated with them and know them well. They described to me behaviors that are popularly seen as abnormal, crazy behavior," Olmert said when asked by the judge on what he had based his comments.
Yariv also said he did not believe OImert would be able to prove Netanyahu meets the definition of "mentally ill" and suggested that he state that his comments were an opinion. The judge argued that Olmert could not claim he was both giving an opinion and a fact-based claim at the same time.
However, Olmert and his lawyer said they wanted to use both defenses and had recordings that could serve as evidence that Netanyahu and his family are "crazy", according to the Jerusalem Post.
During the trial, Netanyahu's lawyer Yossi Cohen said that Olmert would have been arrested for his comments in another country.
Defamation suit | Israel’s former Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Olmert face off in court https://t.co/0P5ZYB8NQT
— Not A Bot (@caffirana) January 11, 2022
"Thank God we are not in that country," Yariv said.
Olmert, who preceded Netanyahu as the country's leader, was accused of corruption and spent time in prison after he was convicted of fraud in 2014.
Netanyahu is currently on trial for three separate corruption cases for fraud and breach of trust but has denied all of the allegations, claiming that the cases are a political attack against him.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
