The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court today (Wednesday) allowed the publication of the name of the state’s witness in the Gal Hirsh case. At the request of the prosecutor’s office, the decision is delayed until September 6 for the consideration of filing an appeal. The name of the state witness has been banned from publication for six years.
■ An indictment was filed against Gal Hirsch for tax offenses amounting to tens of millions of shekels
■ Defensive Shield case: one of the defendants was convicted as part of the settlement
Judge Shaul Avinor affirmed that the claim that there will be a media campaign against the state’s witness should not be accepted, and that there is public interest in the case, adding that “it is not possible to ignore the extended period of time of the investigation.” In addition, it was determined that if there was a real fear for the safety of the state witness due to the harassment, an investigation would have been opened. “I was not presented with any data,” he said.
According to the judge, “the application of principles shows that the position of the accuser’s counsel cannot be accepted. The position of the accuser’s counsel has a creative reversal: the question is whether the accuser has laid down an evidentiary foundation that justifies the continuation of the publication ban. The legislator balanced interests and determined that a constitutional rule is publicity , with the exception of exceptions established by law.
“During the investigation phase, the court is authorized to prohibit publication. However, the law did not stipulate a possibility due to fear of violating the criminal law. I cannot grant the request of the accuser’s attorney.”
Judge Avinor added that the arguments do not concern a serious violation of privacy. “Subjective concerns cannot be a decisive test for banning the publication of his details,” he said.
The judge criticized the prosecution for objecting to publication without any basis for opposition other than the witness’s will. The broadcast was broadcast live at the initiative of the court.
The charge: tax offenses in the millions of shekels
Hirsch, a lieutenant colonel in the reserves and former commander of the Galilee Division in the IDF, was indicted in October 2021 for tax offenses amounting to millions of shekels. Hirsch is accused of not reporting personal income worth 6.1 million shekels in 2008. The investigation and the decision to prosecute him and the hearing Conducted over six years, when the investigation began with suspected bribery of foreign public servants shortly after he was presented as a candidate for commissioner. The investigation resulted in the cancellation of his candidacy.
Hirsch asked to lift the gag order on the name of the state witness and the state witness agreement. Journalists Ila Hasson and Chan Manit from the newspaper “time” joined the request. The main claim is that there is currently no reason for the ban on advertising.
The prosecution objected to the publication of the name of the state witness at this stage until the end of his testimony, on the grounds that the publication might lead to a defamatory media campaign against him that would deter him from testifying, and also in order to preserve his privacy. “The witness is highly likely to be subjected to a defamatory media campaign, the limits of which cannot be estimated, and for which there is a real fear that they will be deterred from giving free testimony or testifying at all,” stated the Taxation and Economics Attorney’s Office.
According to the indictment, Hirsch received the funds for consulting that he provided to the Georgia military together with partners, as part of a company they founded called Defensive Shield. Hirsch did not report in his capital statements the funds in his account and the company’s account in Switzerland.
Attorney Tal Shapira, who represents Hirsch, said at the end of the hearing: “We need to make sure that what happened to Gal does not happen. For this we need a judicial review. There was no justification to oppose the publication.”
Attorney Dan Eldad added: “What happened today will happen every time Gal Hirsch’s truth comes out. The claims of the attorney’s office were shattered in front of the court’s cliff, when an objective person heard the things and examined them, and this will happen in the future as well.”
*** The presumption of innocence: Gal Hirsch and others involved in the affair were not convicted of the acts attributed to them, and they have the presumption of innocence.