High-profile case9/18/2026

Private Investigator Files Two Lawsuits Over Allegedly Defamatory Campaign

Private investigator Tzvika Naveh has filed two lawsuits arising from publications allegedly promoted by Israeli-Australian billionaire Alex Sklar. Naveh seeks ₪2 million in one case concerning bus advertisements and ₪1 million in another concerning claims about the family of released hostage Liri Albag; neither case has been decided.

Key facts

•Plaintiff: private investigator Tzvika Naveh
•First court: Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court
•First claim: ₪2 million for court-fee purposes
•Alleged calculated damage: ₪12.16 million
•Second claim: ₪1 million
•No case numbers or final rulings were stated

Advertisements on buses

In the first lawsuit, filed in the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court against Sklar and the Egged and Metropoline transport companies, Naveh challenges advertisements displaying his photograph alongside former Shin Bet director Yaakov Peri. The advertisements allegedly stated that the two were involved in child abduction. Naveh says he had no connection to the abduction of the Block family’s children in Germany and was never questioned, charged or called to testify in that affair.

Claims against the transport companies

According to the statement of claim, the advertisements appeared on at least 60 buses—30 operated by Egged and 30 by Metropoline—and on at least 40 routes. Naveh alleges that the companies approved and displayed the advertisements, received payment for the campaign and failed to conduct a reasonable review of their content. He calculates damages of ₪12.16 million for defamation and invasion of privacy, but limited the claim to ₪2 million for court-fee purposes and also seeks repayment of the advertising revenue received by the companies.

The Liri Albag family dispute

In a separate lawsuit filed against Sklar in August, Naveh alleges that publications falsely portrayed him as having defrauded Liri Albag’s family while she was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. Naveh says Liri’s father, Eli Albag, asked him to help obtain a foreign passport for her and paid ₪1 million plus VAT; when the effort failed, Naveh says he returned the entire amount. Eli Albag was quoted in attached interviews as saying the money was returned and that he had no complaint against Naveh.

No ruling yet

Naveh seeks ₪1 million in the second lawsuit, removal of the publications and an order preventing their continued distribution. Sklar said he stands behind the publications and intends to prove in court that they were true. At the time of the report, no statements of defence or formal responses from the defendants had been filed, and Naveh’s allegations had not been proven or decided by the court.

What this means for you

The filings do not establish that the disputed publications were false or unlawful; those questions remain for the court. The cases illustrate that people who commission, approve or carry allegedly defamatory advertising may face claims alongside the person accused of initiating the campaign. They also show that a claimant may state a larger estimated loss while limiting the amount formally sought for court-fee purposes.

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Case analysis based on court rulings