Supreme Court.  Free speech requires that the public be given wide latitude to criticize public officials without fear of retribution.  While Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko can squash their political critics with enprisonment and force, a true democracy must allow unfettered criticism of the ruling elite.

 

In the United States, a libel suit against a public figure like Prime Minister Netanyahu, would be much more difficult to win.  The U.S. Supreme Court, in New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), a landmark decision, ruled that a plaintiff must show actual malice to win a libel case against a public figure.

The case began in 1960 when The New York Times published a full-page advertisement by suppor-ters of Ma...

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