Criminal Defamation of Israel (& Civil Defamation Liability)

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johnkarls
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Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:43 pm

Criminal Defamation of Israel (& Civil Defamation Liability)

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Criminal Defamation of Israel (& Civil Defamation Liability)
Originally posted by johnkarls » Mon Dec 09, 2019 1:57 pm - 47 views before being transplanted here
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I propose that we study “Criminal Defamation of Israel (and Civil Defamation Liability).”

With an eye to a REPRISE of our 10/14/2009 Six-Degrees-Of-Separation E-mail Campaign to President Obama calling for “A Marshall-Type Plan” for the Palestinians which concluded with --

“What is necessary is a good education for the Palestinian children and training for the adults so that they can handle jobs that would go with economic development (construction, irrigation, manufacturing, etc.), following a careful assessment of the comparative strengths that Palestine would possess. The U.S. began providing Egypt and Israel with $6 billion/year of economic aid when they signed their 1979 Peace Agreement. It would seem a comparable amount would be a small price to pay to provide a real solution to a conflict that has festered for 60 years and, with nuclear arms soon to permeate the area, could soon produce a nuclear holocaust that might lead to ‘the twilight of the humans’!”

But this time, of course, to President Trump.


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What Sparked This Proposal

In addition to facilitating Reading Liberally - Salt Lake for the last 14 years, I have participated as a mere member in various social-action groups.

One such social-action group recently considered joining the “Rights Forum” of the Netherlands in its “Call on the International Criminal Court [in The Hague - Netherlands]” to be filed with the ICC tomorrow (Tues Dec 10).

[The text of The Rights Forum’s “Call” and its open invitation to organizations around the world to join that “Call” is available at http://discussingliberally-saltlake.org ... 570&t=1863.]

In a pre-meeting e-mail to other members of the social-action group of which I am a mere member, I stated --

“It [the “Call”] focuses primarily on Gaza calling it ‘an occupied territory.’ Gaza is NOT ‘an occupied territory.’ Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, INCLUDING THE FORCED REPATRIATION BY THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT OF ALL JEWISH SETTLERS IN THE GAZA STRIP BACK TO ISRAEL. The fact that Gaza is NOT ‘an occupied territory’ is the reason why missiles have rained on Israel ever since 2005.

“Please note that I am NOT claiming that Israel does not BLOCKADE Gaza (Israel would claim the blockade is necessary to try to curtail the importation of missiles).

“But there was a difference during the Cuban Missile Crisis between the U.S. BLOCKADING Cuba (even though blockading is an “act of war” under international law). And “occupying” Cuba, which the U.S. did NOT do.

“My legal exposure???

“The Mormon Church, like most ‘evangelical’ denominations (and I am NOT implying The Mormon Church is an ‘evangelical’ denomination), holds Israel in high regard because of Genesis 12:1-3: ‘I (God to the Israelites) will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse and all peoples on earth shall be blessed through you.’

“Admittedly, it is ‘radical chic’ these days to be Anti-Semitic. But doing so in the middle of Mormon Country is foolhardy where you could easily be prosecuted for Criminal Defamation!!! Especially foolhardy if one has been engaging in Civil Disobedience on other matters (ref. ‘displaced aggression’)!!!”

[Editorial Note re the final paragraph – Yours Truly has NOT been engaging in “Civil Disobedience” but quite a few of the other members of this social-action group have been.]


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Criminal Penalties For Criminal Defamation

Sec. 9-404 of the Utah Criminal Code provides –

“(1) A person is guilty of criminal defamation if he knowingly communicates to any person orally or in writing any information which he knows to be false and knows will tend to expose any other living person to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. (2) Criminal defamation is a class B misdemeanor.”

This might seem to be a “slap on the wrist” contrasted with the distinction in English-American Common Law between a “felony” which is defined as any crime for which the maximum penalty is DEATH and a “misdemeanor” which is defined as any crime that is NOT punishable by DEATH.

Particularly because many states of the U.S. have modified English-American Common Law by statute (there is no national “common law”) and Utahn “Class B Misdemeanors” are only punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

HOWEVER, there are two important points –

(1) The Utah statute does NOT require that the perp know the communication violates Utah Code Sec. 76-9-404 – only that s/he (A) knows s/he is communicating orally or in writing, and (B) knows the communication is false, and (C) knows the information will expose any other living person to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule.

(2) News media headlines trumpet constantly about events in which a single perp has committed a number of offenses (e.g., a mass shooting) and is prosecuted ON SEPARATE COUNTS for each offense (e.g., separate counts of murder for each victim of the mass shooting) – FOR WHICH THE TOTAL SENTENCE IS THE SUM TOTAL OF THE PENALTY FOR EACH COUNT.

So what would be the maximum exposure for any Utahn who joins in the Rights Forum’s “Call”???

The third element of the Utah Criminal Statute is the perp knows the false information “will tend to expose any other living person to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule.”

Obviously, the false information of the Rights Forum will “expose…to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule” the members Israel’s Military (aka “Israel Defense Forces” or IDF).

And how many members are there of the IDF???

Per http://www.cia.gov, the IDF military obligation is “18 years of age for compulsory (Jews, Druze) military service; 17 years of age for voluntary (Christians, Muslims, Circassians) military service; both sexes are obligated to military service; conscript service obligation - 32 months for enlisted men and about 24 months for enlisted women (varies based on military occupation), 48 months for officers; pilots commit to 9-year service; reserve obligation to age 41-51 (men), age 24 (women).”

And http://www.cia.gov reports that the total population of Israel as of July 2018 was 8,424,904 of which 74.7% are Jewish and 1.6% are Druse.

And that Israel’s “life expectancy” at birth is 82.7 years.

So any American high school student should be able to calculate that Israel’s IDF forces have approximately 3,066,252 members.

And, therefore, any American high school student should be able to calculate that any Utahn who approves her/his organization’s participation in the Rights Forum’s “Call” (the Utahns who approve the Rights Forum’s Criminal Defamation of Israel would appear to comprise a “Criminal Conspiracy to commit Criminal Defamation”) would be exposed to –

(1) Six months in jail for each count multiplied by 3,066,252 counts = 1.5 MILLION years; and

(2) A fine of up to $1,000 for each count multiplied by 3,066,252 counts = $1.5 BILLION.


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The Presbyterian Church Bearing False Witness Against Israel

This is the title of a “Proposed Topic” posted 8/26/2014 in Sec. 3 of http://www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org entitled “Possible Topics for Future Meetings.”

[It is still posted there as “EXPIRED” in accordance with our policy of preserving “Possible Topics” which have not received a vote at 6 consecutive meetings (each of our monthly topics is selected by vote at the previous month’s meeting) if the posted material is voluminous and is worth preserving for future reference.]

For the reader’s convenience, it can be accessed at http://discussingliberally-saltlake.org ... 150&t=1257.

[It and its 4 “replies” comprise approximately 18,255 words or 42 Microsoft Word pages.]

It documents all of the ways that “Steadfast Hope: The Palestinian Quest For A Just Peace” (a 50-page glossy brochure published by the National Presbyterian Church) defamed Israel.

And documents the protest of Yours Truly of the decision of the Adult Education Committee of SLC’s Wasatch Presbyterian Church to “educate” WPC members using “Steadfast Hope” as the focus for a series of Adult Ed classes.

By way of background, Yours Truly attended SLC’s Wasatch Presbyterian from 2007 through 2010 when in Utah and even led 5-6 Adult Ed classes while Rev. David Henry was its Senior Minister (though none of the topics during that period involved the Palestinian issue). However, Yours Truly never became a member of Wasatch because of concerns over its Anti-Semitism and stopped attending after 2010 because Wasatch decided to base some Adult Ed classes on “Steadfast Hope” despite Yours Truly’s 3/31/2010 e-mail that is contained in the Reading Liberally “Topic Proposal.”

It should be noted that Rev. David Henry, the long-time Senior Minister of Wasatch Presbyterian, recommended to WPC’s governing board in 2007 that WPC accept the offer of Rabbi Rosen of Congregation Kol Ami that Rev. Henry had solicited to conduct an Adult Ed class for us in response to our Anti-Semitism. Rev. Henry had ascertained that the lie contained in our long-standing every-Sunday-morning Anti-Semitic prayer request (which Yours Truly had immediately protested at the beginning of his attending WPC in 2007) to the effect that Gaza as of 2007 was “occupied,” was mirrored by a similar lie on the national-Presbyterian web site.

Rev. Henry’s recommendation to accept Rabbi Rosen’s offer was rejected by the WPC governing board in 2007.

When in 2010 WPC’s Adult Ed Committee persisted in its decision to conduct Adult Ed classes based on “Steadfast Hope,” not only did Yours Truly stop attending WPC but Rev. Henry resigned. However, in his resignation explanation, Rev. Henry did not indicate whether WPC’s Defamation of Israel motivated his resignation – saying only that he wanted to spend the rest of his career “pouring oil on troubled waters” as a temporary minister for severely-divided church congregations for which he thought he had a special aptitude.

[BTW, Yours Truly later joined Sandy UT’s Hilltop Methodist Church at the personal invitation of Rev. Henry – Hilltop Methodist was the second severely-divided congregation that Rev. Henry served following his departure from Wasatch Presbyterian. For the curious, First Baptist Church of SLC was the first of the many severely-divided congregations that Rev. Henry has served since his departure from Wasatch Presbyterian.]


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Wasatch Presbyterian’s Legal Exposure for Bearing False Witness Against Israel

The first so-called “Reply” to the “Proposed Topic” closes with –

“I hope you will not be offended if I point out that your attitude, which is in effect ‘why get involved if it's not your fight?’, is the reason why 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis. And if I point out that under English-American common law, a failure to oppose the commission of a crime makes you an accessory who is ipso facto guilty of the same crime. [Indeed, my failure to oppose the criminal defamation by Wasatch Presbyterian and the National Presbyterian Church would have made me an accessory who was ipso facto guilty of criminal defamation.]”

And the “Proposed Topic” itself contains my lengthy 3/31/2010 e-mail to the members of the WPC Adult Ed Committee which contained the following section –

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THE MATERIALS DOCUMENTING THE ANTI-SEMITISM OF WASATCH PRESBYTERIAN

You will be receiving momentarily copies of three e-mails (one of which has 3 attachments) that document (1) the 2007 rejection by Session of Rev. David Henry’s recommendation to accept the offer of Rabbi Rosen of Congregation Kol Ami to conduct an Adult Ed class for us in response to our Anti-Semitism, and Rev. Henry's discovery that the lie contained in our long-standing anti-Semitic prayer requests to the effect that Gaza as of 2007 was “occupied” was mirrored on the national Presbyterian web site and (2) the current imbroglio comprising the Adult Ed class on “Palestine Occupation.”

Anti-Semitism almost always comprises defamation = statements that are false and that are made either with knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. The classic historical example would be the myth that was widely believed throughout history at various times by various groups that “all Jews drink the blood of Christian babies.” Though probably the most egregious was the Roman Catholic Church’s “blood guilt” doctrine that all Jews currently living are responsible for the death of Christ – which remained official Roman Catholic doctrine until 1961, SIXTEEN YEARS AFTER THE END OF WORLD WAR II.

For that reason, the most prominent organization fighting Anti-Semitism in America is the Jewish Anti-Defamation League. It has limited resources, though it often accepts donations “ear marked” for acting in specific situations. For example, if a member of the Salt Lake Jewish community were to take umbrage at the Anti-Semitism of Wasatch Presbyterian Church, it is quite possible that funding for a JADL lawsuit against Wasatch Presbyterian Church and you as individuals might be instituted.

Defamation comes in two varieties – slander is oral and libel is written.

Libel is “actionable per se” which means that punitive damages are in order even if there have been no monetary or other damages. However, unless there has been monetary or other actual harm, punitive damages cannot be imposed for slander unless it involves a claim of (1) criminal conduct by the victim, (2) the victim has a loathsome disease, (3) professional incompetence of the victim, or (4) sexual misconduct by the victim.

Your personal responsibility for the defamatory materials being used in the “Palestine Occupation” Adult Ed class comprises libel and subjects you personally to punitive damages even though there may have been no actual harm to the Salt Lake Jewish community.

Your personal responsibility for the use of these defamatory materials is not excused by the fact that they were prepared by the national Presbyterian organization, and it is not excused by the fact that you may have authorized one of your members to make the decision to permit the use of these materials rather than participating in a vote on the issue (indeed, such an authorization as a “dereliction of duty” may be worse from a legal viewpoint than simply claiming your disregard for the truth was not “reckless” -- especially compounded by the fact that the the person you authorized to make the decision would be considered your agent and, therefore, any knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth on the part of that agent would be attributed back to you).

Punitive damages are usually based on the net worth of the defendant(s) and the percentage of that net worth awarded is based on the judgment of the jury regarding how much would be needed to “teach a lesson” to the defendant(s) so that the behavior does not recur.

A good “rule of thumb” would be to plan on punitive damages equal to 50% of the net worth of the defendant(s).

Incidentally, with regard to Wasatch Presbyterian Church, it is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security by thinking that the church’s property would not be very valuable because, with declining church attendance across America in general and in Salt Lake City in particular, there may not be much demand for a church building such as ours.

However, both the bank that holds our mortgage(s) and the jury as instructed by the judge would look at the value of our land as building lots and/or a site for a condominium/PUD, less the cost of knocking down the church building and removing the debris.

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It should be noted that the foregoing section of the 3/31/2010 e-mail was preceded by this section -

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REVIEWING MY LEGAL OBSERVATIONS WITH YOUR OWN PERSONAL ATTORNEY

Although I have practiced law in New York for 43 years, I am not admitted to practice in Utah. Accordingly, you should view my legal observations as unofficial and each of you should review them with your own personal attorney.

In doing so, my credentials offered for the consideration of your own personal attorney = JD, Harvard Law School, 1967; Who’s Who in American Law, 1988-2003; Who’s Who in America, 1988-2003; Who’s Who in the World, 1994-2003.

It should be noted that it would be improper for the attorney(s) representing Wasatch Presbyterian to offer you legal advice because you and Wasatch Presbyterian have a built-in “conflict of interest” = if this imbroglio should become a legal problem, the attorneys for Wasatch Presbyterian will be trying, in part, to absolve (and limit punitive damages for) their client by blaming you as individuals.

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