Former prime minister Naftali Bennett filed a NIS 2m. defamation lawsuit Thursday against Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman (Likud), MK Ohad Tal (Religious Zionist Party), and the right-wing broadcaster Channel 14 for claims that he took psychiatric medications to function.
The lawsuit was filed in the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court.
In the lawsuit, Bennett accused Channel 14 of being a “television propaganda channel masquerading as a journalistic news outlet,” adding that its content consists of positive coverage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition.
He also accused the news outlet of attacking Netanyahu’s political rivals using “fabrications presented as ‘facts,’ as well as extreme and biased opinions.
Bennett also accused Silman of telling political activists at a conference ahead of elections that he was “both confused and stuttering” from the beginning, stating he was in a “really, really, poor mental state.”
The lawsuit’s claim quoted Silman saying, “Everyone around him knew this; they would put pills for him into all kinds of little red boxes, supposedly so he could function.” Silman also claimed that the person actually running the prime minister’s office during Bennett’s term was Yair Lapid and his entire team.
Silman previously served as Bennett’s coalition chairwoman and was one of the key figures in bringing down his government. She has been a member of the Likud party since 2022.
The lawsuit accused Channel 14 of broadcasting Silman’s statements on May 4, 2026, and amplifying the alleged lies on its platforms.
“The defendant’s slanderous statements… constitute blatant lies,” said the lawsuit. “The plaintiff never took medication for his mental functioning,” it continued.
“These are falsehoods fabricated by the defendant in order to justify her disgraceful defection from the plaintiff’s party, and to please the person who appointed her as a minister in exchange for her defection, while attempting to save the fading political careers of both of them, which are nearing their end in the upcoming elections,” the filing added.
The statement also called Silman’s claims “cheap and wild smears invented by a desparate political in order to mislead the public regarding the plaintiff’s mental state.” It added that Bennett is “a person who has dedicated all his strength to public service for many years.”
Statements, broadcasts, damaged Bennett’s electoral chances, lawsuit claims
It also claimed that Silman’s statements and Channel 14’s broadcasting of these damaged Bennett’s chances of being elected prime minister.
Additionally, Tal was accused of escalating Silman’s lies on May 5, 2026, when, in a post on X/Twitter, he referred to the pills as “psychiatric medications,” claiming that these accusations meant to cast doubt on the plaintiff’s fitness to serve as prime minister.
“Yesterday we discovered that Naftali Bennett takes psychiatric medications while completely hiding it from the public,” said the now-deleted post. “Now it is clear how an Israeli citizen was willing to sell the country to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas for the prime minister’s chair. Wishing you a full recovery, Naftali.”
Bennett claimed that Tal’s comments constitute defamation.
Silman also commented on the pills on her X account, stating, “Naftali, maybe take a calming pill. I understand the polls are stressful…”
נפתלי, אולי תיקח כדור הרגעה. אני מבינה שהסקרים מלחיצים…
— Idit Silman – עידית סילמן (@iditsilman) May 7, 2026
Channel 14 commented on the lawsuit, claiming that “Bennett’s attempt to prevent the publication of a recording that is of public interest joins Yair Golan’s plan to silence media outlets that do not obey them.”
“Instead of hiding behind lawyers, Naftali Bennett is expected to come to the studio and provide answers to the public,” the news channel stated.
