On May 15, the California state Court of Appeals, First Appellate District heard oral arguments in Amitay v. Jews for Jesus (video of full oral arguments). Liberty Counsel, which represents Jews for Jesus, describes the case:
Following the attacks on October 7, 2023, Jews for Jesus distributed Bibles to Israeli soldiers to provide comfort and support. On its Facebook page, Jews for Jesus used a stock photo of an Israeli soldier from a popular website that provides millions of stock photographs under a worldwide copyright license to download, modify, and use for free. Jews for Jesus blurred the face, never used Amitay’s name, and even used the pseudonymous name “Nachman” in the photo’s caption. Jews for Jesus had no prior knowledge of Amitay.
Amitay now says that person in the blurred photo was him, although he has presented no proof of where he saw the photo. Despite the blurred face and never being named, Amitay maintains that the photo created such a false impression of him that it caused his employer to terminate him from his “dream” teaching job.
Liberty Counsel argues in its reply brief that holding Jews for Jesus liable for a religious community’s misunderstanding of the facts, and for its “overreaction” and “theological hostility” to a Christian ministry would be an improper remedy for a “regrettable” situation.
Amitay filed the lawsuit on Christmas Eve 2024 seeking no less than $5 million in punitive damages....
At issue in this appeal is whether the case should be dismissed under California's anti-SLAPP law. The trial court refused to dismiss plaintiff's defamation, false light, and negligent infliction of emotional distress claims. (Trial Court's June 23, 2025 Order [scroll to Exhibit A]).
