US appeals court: rabbi may sue for defamatory comments

A San Francisco rabbi can sue a former president of the city’s Jewish Community Federation for defamation, a court ruled. Overturning the ruling of a trial judge, members of the appeal court said that Rabbi Pinchas Lipner could sue Richard Goldman for allegedly making defamatory comments in a documentary on Jewish philanthropy. In the oral history, Goldman reportedly criticizes Lipner’s treatment of students and says the school he runs, the Hebrew Academy of San Francisco, was a financial drain on the Jewish community. In another part of the interview Goldman compares Lipner to Hitler. Lipner’s lawyer said the comparison was especially painful because Lipner had lost family in the Holocaust. The lower court had ruled that Lipner could not sue. However, the appeals court found that because the interview had been stored in a library for eight years before Lipner found out about it, it fell under the category of delayed discovery, allowing him to sue.