July 5, 2012
Naomi Ragen appeals plagiarism conviction
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Author Naomi Ragen has appealed her plagiarism conviction to the Israeli Supreme Court.
Ragen’s attorney said in the appeal document that the verdict has destroyed the Israeli author’s life, according to Haaretz, which on July 5 quoted from the document: “The ruling branded her as a thief and shattered her honor, both as a person and as a well-known and respected author both in Israel and worldwide.”
The Jerusalem District Court ruled last December that Ragen, who came to Jerusalem from New York City, used parts of author Sarah Shapiro’s 1990 book “Growing With My Children: A Jewish Mother’s Diary” in her book “Sotah,” which appeared in 1992. In addition to levying damages, as well as court costs and lawyer’s fees, the court ordered Ragen to remove the plagiarized passages in future printings of the book.
Ragen deplored the ruling and was quoted in the Israeli media as saying that while she may have been inspired by Shapiro’s book, it was not tantamount to plagiarism.
A month later, Ragen was found not guilty by Israel’s Supreme Court of plagiarizing in her book “The Ghost of Hannah Mendes” from self-published author Michal Tal.
A lawsuit against Ragen for copyright infringement over her book “The Sacrifice of Tamar” is scheduled to begin in September.
