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Without prejudice

May 24, 2010

To:
Nadav Haetzni, Adv.
Puris Heatzni Rosenberg & Co.
15 Kanfei Nesharim St., Jerusalem
By fax no. 02-653-7773 (tel: 02-653-7777)
By registered mail and fax

Re: My client, Mr. David Remez

Publication of defamation – your client, the Im Tirzu association

Re: Your letter to my client, Mr. David Remez, from April 1, 2010

Dear Sir,

1. I hereby reply to your letter to my client, Mr. David Remez (who in your
letter was called familiarly "Didi Remez"), pursuant to the contents of your
referenced letter from April 1, 2010 (provided, of course, that your letter
was sent in earnest, and was not sent as an April Fools' Day prank, a
common practice in the world on that date).
2. In your letter you claim that my client, together with others, is a participant
in a grave publication, in your words, on the Internet, as part of the
Facebook site, which includes the logo "Im Tirzu – a fascist movement."
Subsequently in your letter you claim that the goal of this group is to
promote a campaign of slander, defamation and vilification of your client.
3. Inasmuch as my client is indeed a participant in administering this group on
the Internet and/or was a participant in the publications appearing therein,
we completely reject the contents of your letter, in all its sections and
arguments, for the reasons that will appear as follows. My client, inasmuch
as he is a participant in administering the group "Im Tirzu – a fascist
movement," maintains his claims in this matter and his right to freedom of
expression in a democratic state, as shall be explained as follows.

Definitions

4. Before we present our arguments and address, in a nutshell, the arguments


and complaints raised in your letter, we would like to define a number of
terms to ensure our use of them is understood. Clearly these definitions are
not comprehensive and cannot contain the complete extent of academic
research concerning them:

"Democracy" -- government of the people, a political regime where


government is by elected representatives of the people.

"Democratic" – (from the Greek, demos – people, kratos – rule or power). 1.


An advocate of a regime of the rule of the people, a government of elected
representatives of the people. 2. A person who sees other members of
society as having equal rights to himself and does not aspire to elevate
himself above others and lord over them.

These terms were taken from The New Dictionary by Abraham Even-
Shoshan.

"Freedom of speech" -- a regime of liberty, where every person is allowed to


express their views publicly, even if they contradict the official view or the
views of others, without being subjected to sanction because of said
expression.

"Fascism" - a system of ideologies and practices that wish to place the


nation, defined in biological, cultural and/or historic terms, above all other
foci of identification, and create a motivated national community (Kevin
Passmore – Fascism, a Very Short Introduction, Oxford University
Press, 2002).

5. We also wish to comment that we tried as much as possible to avoid relying


on the definitions that appear on the website "Wikipedia -- the free
encyclopedia," considering the recent press reports ("Haaretz," May 14,
2010), that you take exception to some of the definitions appearing therein,
at least when it comes to definitions related to your movement. It was also
reported in that article that even your unequivocal demand to change the
definitions of the movement so that they accord with the definitions your
client wishes to appropriate for itself was accompanied by a threat, albeit
implicit, of a legal suit in the matter. We will return to this later in our
response.

On the freedom to express opinions in a democratic state

6. I hereby inform you that our client completely rejects your demands in your
letter.
7. The involvement you ascribe to our client in the Facebook group, inasmuch
as it exists, constitutes a legitimate and legal use of his right to the freedom
of expression afforded to him in a country whose regime is democratic.
The attempt by your client, through you, to intimidate anyone who criticizes
it is an anti-democratic act that gravely violates the right to freedom of
expression.
8. The public discourse in Israel is sharp and stems from the gravity of the
issues at hand. The use of the phrase "fascism" in its various conjugations
and of even harsher terms attributed to individuals and movements
perceived by their critics as undemocratic is not rare. The attempt to silence
that criticism only reinforces the critic's justification for using such phrases.
9. Therefore, while sending libel threats to the whole world and trying to
eliminate criticism, it is advisable that your client contend with the tools and
funds at its disposal (and they are plentiful) with the content and substance
of the criticism of it. Your client has proved it has the necessary ties to
expose its positions and studies to the point that any nonsense it issues turns
into an "investigative report" and "exposure." It is hard to claim your client
suffers from the inability to voice its views and response to the criticism of it
to the public. Actually, the contrary is true.
10. I would like to add that my client is not deterred by the threats made in your
letter as to moving the discussion to court. Not at all. It is possible that in
light of your client's exception to the external definition of the Im Tirzu
association, whether as part of Wikipedia or as part of the Facebook group
"Im Tirzu – a fascist movement," the courts of the state of Israel may
have to decide on the issue, including hearing experts on fascism and fascist
movements in Israel and the world, including a demand to review your
client's internal documents. My client, along with substantial parts of the
Israeli public, will be the first to welcome that, while continuing the public
discourse, which my client has no intention of stopping.
11. Finally, my client rejects, with due respect, your baseless and shameless
demand to make any apology, as detailed in your letter. My client also rejects
every claim presented in your letter, as if your client suffered any damage,
whether monetary or not monetary, because of my client's freedom of
speech and freedom of thought, as expressed, inasmuch as it was expressed
at all, as part of the Facebook group "Im Tirzu – a fascist movement."
12. I would like to take this opportunity to express my regret for the delay in
sending this reply on behalf of my client, caused by a heavy workload for
organizations, some of which are subsidized by the New Israel Fund.
13. Naturally, it goes without saying, that the contents of this letter or anything
that does not appear therein do not constitute confirmation and/or
agreement, explicit or implicit, with anything claimed or implied in your
letter, and my client reserves the right to argue against those claims in any
legal procedure and/or any other forum he sees fit.

Sincerely,

Michael Sfard, Adv. Shlomi Zachary, Adv.

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