Life imitates art? Like her heroines, author forced to pay for crime

Jerusalem District Court Judge Yosef Shapira on Tuesday accepted a settlement between bestselling American-Israeli author Naomi Ragen and ultra-Orthodox author Sarah Shapiro. The agreement followed the court’s verdict of Dec. 11 that Ragen committed plagiarism in her novel “Sotah.” The settlement states that Ragen will pay Shapiro NIS 233,000 ($62,628) for copyright infringement.

In 2007, Shapiro accused Ragen of having stolen text and ideas from her book “Growing Up with My Children,” a memoir of her day-to-day life as a young ultra-Orthodox mother. Ragen’s book, “Sotah,” is a fictional account of a young woman in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox enclave who is accused of committing adultery.

In a long, detailed verdict, the court found in favor of Shapiro, describing Ragen’s use of her work as theft, negligence and a violation of copyright. Ragen claimed that she had “accidentally” copied the work, but her claim was rejected because, the court said, it was “unthinkable, unlikely and unbelievable.”

Following its December verdict, the court recommended that the two sides reach a settlement. While Ragen retains the right to appeal the December verdict, the need for a settlement agreement was urgent, as new editions of the book “Sotah” will have to be stripped of all sentences and phrases which the court determined violated Shapiro’s copyright.

Shapiro is well-known in ultra-Orthodox circles as a writer and editor. In addition to her book, she is known for articles catering to the English-speaking ultra-Orthodox population. She originally sued Ragen for NIS 1 million, with the help of attorneys Gilad Corinaldi and Talya Grinstein.

Ragen is a well-known author and playwright, whose books in English have been translated to Hebrew and other languages. Her first three books, “Jepthe’s Daughter,” “Sotah,” and “The Sacrifice of Tamar” all featured ultra-Orthodox subjects and themes. Attorney Tamir Glick represented her in negotiations.

Judge Shapira encouraged both women to continue writing, despite the painful legal battle between them.

“I am glad it’s over,” Ragen said in a statement on Tuesday. “Still, I wanted to be judged by someone who read the book, and this judge did not read the book. The claim started at more than NIS 1 million and ended after five years of litigation at a much lower amount. I will also appeal this judgment. Most of [Shapiro’s] claims lack cause of action. I hope that justice will be served in the Supreme Court.”

For her part, Shapiro said, “I am very happy and I thank the Israeli justice system. I did not expect the process to last such a long time, but now I am content.”

　

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