aThe government-backed ultranationalist Israeli TV channel is in the country’s is rapidly emerging as one of the most viewed news sources in the world. Not far enough to the right.
Channel 14, also known as Now 14, topped Israel’s main mainstream news channel in ratings last month when 343,000 Israelis watched Channel 14’s “Patriot” talk show, known for its vitriol in the Gaza Strip. exceeded 12.
Media analysts say Channel 14’s rise is both a symptom and a driver of a far-right shift in Israeli public opinion that has accelerated rapidly since the start of the war in Gaza a year ago.
Ayala Paniewski, Chancellor’s Fellow in Journalism at City St. So this is pretty wild.” But Channel 14 wasn’t even in the game until recently. The war appears to have helped the channel gain more support, riding on the “rallies around the flag” effect and rising nationalism. ”
Channel 14 even questions the loyalty of the Israeli military due to a perceived lack of ideological fervor. Last week, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Admiral Daniel Hagari filed a formal complaint with the broadcasting authority and the Ministry of Defense, accusing Channel 14 of incitement against the leadership.
The broadcast that triggered this letter showed a doctored photo of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Helzi Halevi, his face distorted to look deranged, and the religious insignia of the Messiah emblazoned on a soldier’s uniform. I was screaming when I saw it. Hagari said that while the IDF can accept criticism, Channel “crossed a line that should not be crossed.”
He writes: “This is a deliberate incitement and humiliation of the Israeli Defense Forces and their commanders during the war. Unfortunately, this is not the first time Channel 14 has taken actions like this against the IDF.”
Channel 14 denied claims that the broadcast was inflammatory and sarcastically advised Hagari not to become a TV critic. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, supported the channel beyond the military.
Just over a month ago, three Israeli civil society groups called on Israel to launch a criminal investigation into the channel, accusing it of broadcasting content that incited war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide. A formal request was made to the Attorney General.
In its September 23 complaint, the Zlat organization appealed for equality and human rights. Democratic bloc. and the Fair Regulation Society provided a list of 265 statements from Channel 14 talk show hosts and guests.
Comments included guests and presenters using expressions such as “total annihilation” and “extermination” in reference to the people of Gaza. The complaint alleges that at least 50 of the quotes listed “call for or support the commission of genocide.”
Channel 14 responded to the Guardian through a US-based lawyer denying claims that its reporting incited genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. He called the charges “baseless and highly defamatory”, adding that the charges were brought by Israeli extremists and were dismissed by the High Court in August.
The complaint is based on Israel’s status as a party to the Genocide Convention and on the grounds that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an interim order in January instructing Attorney General Ghari Baharahu Miara to: claims it has a legal obligation to launch an investigation. The Israeli government called for the prevention and punishment of incitement to genocide.
“The clarion call to commit horrific crimes against millions of civilians has found a home, has been voiced on channels, and is justified among the Israeli public,” the group said in a statement. alleged in the complaint.
In response, Channel 14 said the complainants filed an identical or substantially similar “complaint against Channel 14” with the Israeli High Court, which was dismissed. The channel’s lawyers said in a statement: “The previous complaint was deemed completely baseless and the High Court recommended that the plaintiff withdraw the complaint for deletion.”
Zlat president and former Meretz party leader Zehava Garon said the case at the High Court was a separate subject and “mainly concerns fake news and smear campaigns against the judicial system.”
“Most of these charges were from the months before October 7th. None of the allegations in the appeal involved crimes against humanity,” Garon said, adding that the recommendation for dismissal “requires the court to “It was based on conservative policies that discourage alternatives to courtroom trials,” he added. “Regulatory Authority Judgment.”
The three organizations sent a similar letter to Israel’s media regulator. The letter does not pass judgment on whether Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, a claim the ICJ is considering following legal proceedings in December in which South Africa discussed incitement in detail. .
Among the examples cited in the complaint is that a Channel 14 anchor threatened to “annihilate” the Palestinian people, killing “an unprecedented number of people in Arab history.”
Another presenter, Shimon Riklin, told Palestinians in Gaza on October 7: “We shouldn’t give them water or electricity. Let them die there!” It should be wiped off the face of the earth,” he tweeted.
“They should have killed 100,000 Gazans in the first two days,” said Danny Newman, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and a regular panelist on Channel 14.
On the May 6 broadcast, Newman said: 90% are terrorists and are “involved”! ”
Channel 14’s lawyers said many of the statements cited in the complaint were “made by Channel 14 guests and reporters in the wake of the horrific October 7th terrorist attack.” The lawyers also said the statement was “repeated in multiple Israeli news outlets.”
Since the October 7 Hamas attack, hate speech has increased in Israeli public spaces and has been covered by other news outlets. Neumann was also reported to have called for the “annihilation” of Palestinians in Gaza, for example on Channel 13. Channel 12 aired a report from Lebanon over the weekend. In it, lead reporter Danny Kushmaro was given permission by the military to push a button to blow up a building in a village in southern Lebanon.
The group behind the complaint against the attorney general claims such rhetoric is far more focused on Channel 14.
“There is no equivalence between what is happening on Channel 12 and Channel 13, the mainstream media in Israel, and what you see on Channel 14. This is a completely different world,” Panievski said. did.
Channel 14’s lawyers disagreed, saying the accusers were “a small NGO with close ties to the Israeli far-left bent on defaming and belittling Channel 14 and its reporting.” They said questions should be raised about the motives of the group, which was “exploiting the Israeli legal system for the purpose of attracting negative media to Channel 14.”
Israeli state prosecutor Amit Eisman said in August that his office had investigated calls to investigate singer Eyal Golan and other public figures on charges of sedition, but decided not to proceed. Eisman did not say why the decision was made.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has long been an ardent supporter of Channel 14, claiming he “fought like a lion” for it, and gave the only interview he has given to local broadcast media in recent years to Channel 14.
The channel is owned by Yitzchak Mirilashvili, a 40-year-old Russian-born oligarch who co-founded the Russian social networking platform VKontakte. Mr. Mirilashvili’s television venture started as Channel 20, a niche station covering “heritage” issues, but with the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, parliament announced that in February 2018, it would be broadcast as Channel 14, and that it would become a news broadcaster. An amendment was passed to recognize that
It was subsequently recognized as a multi-million shekel national interest, but was officially defined as a “microchannel” and exempted from many of the rules and restrictions applicable to its mainstream competitors, Channels 12 and 13.
“Even without regulations, they are getting a lot of regulatory benefits,” Zlat’s Zehava Garon said.
“This channel has a good reputation within the military. Many officers, many soldiers are exposed (to that rhetoric).”
Proving incitement to genocide in an international tribunal had to pass a high hurdle, says a Ukrainian consultant in international humanitarian law who is involved in developing incitement to genocide cases at the International Criminal Court against Russian propaganda channels. Anna Vishnyakova says.
“There is a need to justify that there is an incitement to destroy the Palestinian people themselves, but not because of territorial claims, but because they are Palestinians,” Vishnyakova said. “Without that, it can be persecution, it can be propaganda for war, but it is not incitement to genocide.”
Channel 14’s lawyers also said that Channel 14, like all other Israeli news organizations, is under the supervision of Israel’s Second Television and Radio Authority, which “monitors all daily broadcasts and monitors Israel’s We take action when we receive reports that may violate the law.” If authorities identify potential violations of the law, they will require the channel to respond and take appropriate action if necessary. None of the statements contained in the complaint have been questioned by authorities. ”
Panievski said the agency was no longer an effective regulator because it was “full of people who were friendly to the government.”
