An Apology from James Randi

Randi had to instruct his publishers to place an erratum in his book. The following are the misleading statements which I found in Randi’s book.

On page 9: Seven lines from the bottom by using the words “brought to court.” this suggested that myself Uri Geller and Shipi Shtrang were physically taken to court, which was not the case. A legal action was brought against me, with the judge accepting on behalf of the court an amount of money sent in anonymously which settled the charge.

Next on page 154: Line 11 – it would have been accurate to say I Uri Geller was dismissed from an officer’s training course”. There is no evidence or reason to make the suggestion that I was cashiered.

On page 198: Line 24 it should state “charged through the courts, and a settlement was made in favour of the plaintiff.”

On page 215: In paragraph 3, reference “f”: I Uri Geller was not, technically, “tried in a court of law and convicted” but was charged through the courts, with a settlement being made. The plaintiff in this case had charged that I Uri Geller was performing tricks rather than producing paranormal feats. The judge awarded the plaintiff only the price he had paid for admission to my show.

I shall reproduce for the purpose of clarity, the complete text of the July 1971 article as it appeared in the Jerusalem Post.

Legerdemain ruled Breach of Contract

Beersheba – The Magistrate’s Court here yesterday upheld charges that Uri Geller, the self-proclaimed telepathist, was guilty of breach of contract in that he promised to perform feats of telepathy, parapsychology, hypnotism and telekinesis, while in fact he merely employed sleight-of-hand and stage tricks.

Geller was ordered to foot costs of £20 and to repay the plaintiff – Uri Goldstein, a mechanical engineering student at the University of the Negev – the £7.50 Goldstein had paid for a ticket to one of Geller’s performances.

The court ruled with the plaintiff that Geller’s performance – in contrast to his advertised promises – constituted a breach of the contract defined by the purchase of a ticket to the performance.