On 13 January 2026, at the Haifa enforcement office, Yaniv Perlov, an employee of Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, stood facing a customer of the bank and stated for the record: "The creditor is willing to settle the debt, grant a discount and/or a payment plan".
The case is a vehicle pledge case. The creditor is Mizrahi Tefahot Leasing, a subsidiary of the bank. The receiver was represented by attorney Dotan Tzur, of the Chen Fisher Gabbay law firm.
The hearing ended. At 13:15 the customer recorded what happened next.
"Liar, crook and criminal, that's what you are", attorney Dotan Tzur says in the transcript of the recording. And then, again and again: "Thief, crook and criminal". "The scum of the human race". "You should go to prison".
In the transcript, the customer turns to the bank representative: "Yaniv, listen". And again: "Yaniv? Listen, Yaniv". The lawyer answers in his place: "Don't talk to him, he'll start telling stories there".
Then comes the sentence at the heart of the story: "I will make sure you never get a settlement in your life because you are a thief, a crook and a criminal". And later: "Let everyone know that this person is a thief, a crook and a criminal". The customer replies: "Let's make peace, let's make peace". The lawyer: "Don't talk to me, scum".
People standing nearby asked: "What happened? Who is that? Is that your lawyer?" The customer answered: "No, that's the other side's lawyer".
The transcript contains not a single word from the bank representative. According to the customer, Perlov stood there in silence, and the settlement offer made at the hearing was never brought up with him again.
A week earlier, on 6 January 2026, the customer had sent Perlov an email with the subject line "Urgent message to Yaniv Perlov". He wrote that he had asked to repay the car loan early and could not find anyone to talk to. He also wrote: "What Chen Fisher is doing now is damage to Mizrahi, and I have no interest in acting against you". No reply to the email was found.
In brief
- At the hearing on 13 January 2026, a Mizrahi Tefahot Bank representative stated for the record that the creditor was willing to reach a settlement, a discount or a payment plan.
- After the hearing, according to the transcript of the recording, attorney Dotan Tzur shouted at the customer "thief, crook and criminal" and told him "I will make sure you never get a settlement in your life".
- The words were said while the bank representative and other people were present. The transcript contains no response from the bank representative.
- A week earlier, the bank representative had received an email warning that the law firm's actions were causing "damage to Mizrahi".
What counts as defamation
According to Uri Shenhar's book, "Defamation Law" (Dinei Lashon Hara), without publication there is no defamation. Publication is a necessary condition both for the civil tort and for the criminal offence (p. 137).
Section 2(a) of the Prohibition of Defamation Law, 1965 provides that publication can be oral, in writing, in print, in a drawing, by gesture, by sound or by any other means. Words spoken aloud are publication just as much as a letter is (p. 138).
What is not publication is something said to the injured party alone. For a civil cause of action to arise, the words must reach at least one person other than the one they are about. A criminal offence requires at least two people (sections 6 and 7 of the law, pp. 141 and 151 to 152).
For oral publication, the law requires two things: that the words were intended for another person, and that they actually reached that person (section 2(b)(1)). According to the book, the intention can be inferred from the fact that the words were hurled in the presence of others and loudly enough for them to hear (p. 147).
In the transcript, people can be heard asking who the man is, the customer can be heard asking "Why are you shouting?", and the lawyer can be heard saying "Let everyone know". These documents indicate that the words were not meant for the customer's ears alone.
The bank representative as listener: why it matters
One might think that words said in the presence of the lawyer's own side do not count as publication. According to the book, this very question was raised in the Knesset when the law was enacted. It was proposed that publication to a person in the service of the publisher or of the injured party would not be considered publication. The proposal was rejected (p. 143).
In the book's words: "Prima facie, according to the wording of the law, conveying messages to any person who is not the injured party gives rise to a cause of action, whatever the relationship between the recipient of the message and the person conveying it or the injured party" (Shenhar, p. 143).
Here the listener is not the lawyer's employee. He is the representative of the lawyer's client, the bank employee who decides whether to offer a settlement. According to the transcript, the words were not said only to humiliate. They were tied to an outcome: "I will make sure you never get a settlement in your life". These documents indicate that the most important listener present was precisely the person in whose hands the settlement decision lay.
What the publication means
The labels "thief, crook and criminal" were not said in an argument over an account. They were said minutes after the bank representative had stated for the record that the creditor was willing to settle. The lawyer added: "This is a debt created by fraud".
A publication like this works in two directions. Towards the customer, it damages his good name in front of strangers. Towards the bank, it portrays the customer as someone with whom there is no point negotiating. When the bank representative hears from the lawyer on the case that the debt was "created by fraud" and that the customer "will never get a settlement in his life", the offer made at the hearing loses its basis.
The settlement offered on the record was the short route. Without it, what remains is the long route: a pledge case, a receiver, interest and legal fees.
Is the bank liable
Liability for defamation does not rest only with the person who said the words. According to the chapter "Those liable for defamation" in Shenhar's book, liability is determined under tort law. An employer, a principal, anyone who authorized or approved the publication, and a corporation of which the publisher is one of its organs can be liable alongside the publisher, jointly and severally (pp. 159 to 161).
The book notes that imposing liability on someone who did not publish the words himself requires, among other things, a contribution to the tort and awareness of it. Here there are three documents the bank will have to contend with: the email of 6 January that warned the bank employee about the damage caused by the law firm, the protocol in which that same employee offered a settlement, and the transcript of the recording in which he is present while the lawyer announces that there will be no settlement.
Whether the bank representative's silence was consent, or merely embarrassment, is a question for the court. There is no known indication that the bank distanced itself from the words, and according to the customer, the bank also never returned to the settlement offer.
Who the parties are
Chen Fisher Gabbay is a law firm based in Netanya. Its partners are Victor Fisher, attorney, Ofer Chen, attorney, and Elad Gabbay, attorney. The words in the transcript are attributed to attorney Dotan Tzur alone, and not to any of the partners. At the hearing itself, according to the protocol, attorney Tzur said that the customer "served as a private investigator" and "learned tricks", and that his claims are "lies and falsehoods".
How oral publication is proven
According to the book, the burden of proving publication lies with the plaintiff. The usual way is testimony from someone who heard the words, and failing to call the listeners may count against the plaintiff. When the publication was made in audio or video, the best way to prove it is to submit a full recording of it (pp. 155 to 157). In this case, one of the listeners is the bank employee himself.
Read also: Bank secrecy: where did the personal data you gave Mizrahi Tefahot Bank end up? · Mizrahi Tefahot Leasing car loan? · Are the Receiver and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Liable for a Publication by Attorney Dotan Tzur?
What this article does not determine
This article does not determine that the bank is liable for the words, and it does not examine which defences are available to the lawyer or to the bank. The transcript is a document prepared by the customer, and its accuracy has not been examined in any proceeding. No court or tribunal has ruled on the matter.
Questions for Mizrahi Tefahot Bank
- Did Yaniv Perlov report to the bank what was said after the hearing on 13 January 2026?
- Did the bank authorize attorney Dotan Tzur to tell the customer that he would not get a settlement?
- What did the bank do with the email of 6 January 2026, which warned about the damage caused by the law firm?
- Does the settlement offer made on the record still stand?
- Does the bank distance itself from the labels "thief, crook and criminal" used about one of its customers?
This article is based on the protocol of the hearing of 13 January 2026 in case 515509-06-24 at the Haifa enforcement office, on a transcript of a recording made that same day at 13:15, and on an email of 6 January 2026. The legal analysis is based on Uri Shenhar, "Defamation Law" (Dinei Lashon Hara), second edition (2024), chapter seven, "Publication", pp. 137 to 158, and chapter eight, pp. 159 to 161. The bank's response will be published if received.
Frequently asked questions about defamation
What counts as defamation?
Publication is any way in which the words reach a person other than the injured party: orally, in writing, in print, in a drawing, by gesture, by sound or by any other means. Under section 7 of the Prohibition of Defamation Law, 1965, it is enough for the words to reach one other person for a civil cause of action to arise.
Is shouting at someone in front of other people defamation?
It can be. For oral publication, the law requires that the words were intended for another person and actually reached that person. According to Uri Shenhar's book, "Defamation Law" (Dinei Lashon Hara), the intention can be inferred from the fact that the words were said in the presence of others and loudly enough for them to hear.
Can you file a defamation lawsuit against a lawyer?
Yes. The Prohibition of Defamation Law, 1965 also applies to lawyers. Section 13(5) of the law protects statements made by a party or by its counsel in the course of a court hearing, so when and where the words were said matters.
Is a bank liable for what a lawyer acting on its case said?
Not automatically. Under tort law, an employer, a principal, and anyone who authorized or approved a publication can be liable alongside the person who published it. The question depends on the relationship between them and on what the bank knew.
What should you do if the other side's lawyer defamed you?
Document it immediately: a recording, the date and time, and the names of the people who heard it. You can file a complaint with the Israel Bar Association, write to the body on whose behalf the lawyer acted, and consider a lawsuit under the Prohibition of Defamation Law, 1965.