Elliott Broidy, former Republican National Committee deputy finance chair, filed a defamation lawsuit against Haaretz, a more than 100-year-old Israeli daily, on Monday.
The paper, which is seen widely as left-wing on Israeli politics, stated in a Sept. 1 article that Broidy was a partner at Koios, an Israeli firm accused of working for Qatar. U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Broidy on Jan. 20, 2021, after the latter pleaded guilty to failing to register as an agent of foreign entities.
“Mr. Broidy is well known for his numerous philanthropic efforts, including on behalf of law enforcement, the military and veterans programs and the Jewish community,” the president stated at the time.
Per the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, there is no evidence that Broidy ever knew or benefited from the Israeli company’s alleged activities. It alleges that Haaretz “buried” in its story that it was a company owned by one of the founders of Koios, and not Koios itself, that signed a contract to promote Qatar. The Israeli paper “deceptively mischaracterized this other company as a mere proxy for Koios,” according to the suit.
The Haaretz article initially called Broidy a “secret partner” at Koios, and that word remains in the article’s web address, even though it was removed from the story. Per the lawsuit, Broidy is a “passive investor and shareholder” rather than a partner at the company, and he cut ties with it after learning of its support of Qatar. (JNS sought comment from Haaretz.)
“While Haaretz added Mr. Broidy’s denial of involvement in or knowledge of the PR campaign, it did so in a manner falsely suggesting that Haaretz had evidence to the contrary, which it did not and could not have had,” the suit states. “The article continues to promulgate the same falsehood.”
The suit states that Broidy asked the Israeli paper to retract and correct the article and to apologize, which it didn’t do.
Dan Benson, an attorney for Broidy, told JNS that the Haaretz article is “demonstrably false and malicious” and caused his client “serious harm.”
“This lawsuit is about vindicating Mr. Broidy’s good name and holding Haaretz accountable for its disregard of the truth,” he said.
