Hagai Sitton


Hagai Sitton is an Israeli lawyer and managing partner at the firm "Spaer, Sitton & Henig." Sitton is a public activist and serves as the chairman of several cultural and social associations and funds. In 2014, he was awarded the Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem title. In 2025, he received an Honorary Doctorate degree from Ariel University.

Early life and Military service

Sitton was born on 8 September 1939 in Jerusalem, the son of Levana and Yosef Sitton. He attended Beit HaKerem elementary school and Beit HaKerem high school. In his youth, he was active and served as a counselor in "HaTnua HaMe'uhedet" youth movement and worked with troubled youth. In 1957, he enlisted for military service in the Israel Defense Forces and served in the Nahal brigade, in the "Kadesh" gar'in of HaTnua HaMe'uhedet. In 1965, he completed his Bachelor of Laws degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In the reserves, he served in the Reconnaissance Unit of the Jerusalem Brigade, and fought in the Six-Day War in the battles for Armon HaNatziv, HaPa'amon post, and Sur Baher. During the Yom Kippur War, he was on prolonged reserve duty on the banks of the Suez Canal, and documented the service with 8mm film footage. Subsequently, he served as a liaison officer to the Multinational Force in Lebanon and Sinai, as a prosecutor and a military judge in the military court at Camp Beit El, and later as a presiding judge in the Military Advocate General's Corps. Sitton was discharged with the rank of Major.

Legal career

In October 1965, Sitton was certified as a lawyer and has been a member of the Israel Bar Association ever since. He interned at the Ministry of Justice and at the firm "Spaer-Tusia Cohen & Co.," specializing in litigation. In 1977, he joined attorney Arnold Spaer as a partner, and since 1980, he has served as the managing partner at the firm "Spaer, Sitton, Henig Law Office". In 1988, he was admitted to the New York State Bar Association in the United States. Sitton specializes in litigation across all jurisdictions, real estate and tenant protection law, planning and construction, torts and medical malpractice, intellectual property, contracts, taxation, and antiquities. Sitton holds a mediator certificate from the Hebrew University and is a public notary, as well as a member of the Arbitration Federation of the Bar Association. Additionally, he serves as an arbitrator.

Sitton vs. the Israel Broadcasting Authority (C.C. 18048/95)

In 1995, the Israel Broadcasting Authority produced and aired a drama series called "Sitton," which featured a character named Sitton, who was a lawyer. At the time, a highly-publicized criminal trial was taking place in the United States, in which baseball player O. J. Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife and another man. His attorney succeeded in having him acquitted of the charges, although many believed he had committed the murders. In promoting the television series in Israel, the IBA publicly advertised, including on buses, with the slogan: "Attorney Sitton congratulates O. J. Simpson's lawyers." Attorney Hagai Sitton claimed this harmed his good name, as his circle of acquaintances and clients believed the advertisement was issued by him.
Sitton filed a lawsuit against the IBA and the Egged company, both for defamation and invasion of privacy. The claim was rejected in the initial court, where the judge reasoned that there was nothing wrong with words of congratulation on the one hand, and there was no proof that the advertisement specifically referred to attorney Hagai Sitton. Sitton filed an appeal to the District Court. In the appeal, he argued that there were no other lawyers named 'Sitton' at the time, and therefore the public identified him with the character in the series, thereby invading his privacy. Additionally, the public identified him as the person who celebrated Simpson's acquittal, thereby defaming him. Conversely, the defense argued that the series was a fictional creation.
The court accepted the appeal and determined that the IBA had a duty of care. Before using the name "Sitton", they should have checked if any lawyers held that name. Since the name was relatively rare, and was unique among lawyers in the public sphere at that time, and given that the plaintiff was a well-known lawyer in Jerusalem, it was foreseeable that the public would connect the character with him. The court ruled that this constituted an invasion of privacy and that the plaintiff's good name had been damaged, thus constituting libel. The ruling emphasized the balance between artistic freedom of expression and the right to a good name, stating that in this case, the right to a good name prevailed. The IBA was ordered to pay financial compensation to Hagai Sitton.

Public activities

Sitton is extensively active in public, cultural, and legal bodies: