Shamriz Sues Baranes for Defamation Over October 7 Memorial Attacks
Yonatan Shamriz and the Kumu movement filed a defamation lawsuit seeking 710,023 shekels against Ziv Baranes over posts comparing the memorial to the Third Reich.
Yonatan Shamriz, brother of the late Alon Shamriz, and the Kumu movement he founded in his memory, filed a defamation lawsuit this morning (Wednesday) at the Tel Aviv Magistrates' Court against Ziv Baranes. The plaintiffs are seeking 710,023 shekels in damages, a sum symbolizing the date of the massacre, October 7, 2023.
The Controversial Publications
The lawsuit focuses on three publications by Baranes surrounding the national memorial ceremony for the victims of October 7, which was produced by the Kumu movement. According to the statement of claim, on the evening of the ceremony, Baranes uploaded a video from the site under the caption "The October 7 whitewash ceremony." In the video, he stated that the event featured propaganda on the level of the Third Reich, specifically labeling the Kumu movement as the entity tearing the country apart.
The following day, Baranes published a post featuring a picture of Shamriz, calling him a despicable character and claiming that those behind the ceremony brought the massacre upon the country. He further asserted that Shamriz was a mouthpiece for the elites and had done nothing except cry in the media.
In a third publication on October 9, Baranes wrote that he apologized for his choice of words because he should have used much harsher language. He claimed the ceremony was funded by protest organizations while maintaining he did not direct his words at bereaved families.
Legal Claims and Demands
The lawsuit, filed through attorneys Omri Segev and Ahiraz Goldstein Kasher, states that the ceremony was funded entirely by donations with no connection to the bodies mentioned by Baranes. Furthermore, the event was open to all, contradicting Baranes's claim that families were excluded.
"On the day of the ceremony, Ziv called the Kumu movement, which I established in memory and light of my heroic late brother Alon, the 'Third Reich'," Shamriz said. "With these words, he degraded and trampled the memory of the heroes, the murdered, and the bereaved families."
The plaintiffs request enhanced compensation due to malicious intent, as well as an injunction to remove the posts and force Baranes to publish the court verdict on his account.
Background on Alon Shamriz
Alon Shamriz was kidnapped from his home in Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023. On December 15, 2023, after escaping his captors, he was tragically killed in the Gaza Strip by IDF gunfire.
