A fateful day the next day for the fate of the country’s leadership? indeed. A fateful day for the credibility of the functioning of the media during elections? indeed. And if Netanyahu loses the battle, many of his supporters will blame the media for the loss of power. In our opinion, the coverage is imbued with hatred for the prime minister, and not from today, will not be enough to explain a loss, not even the legal process. To our impression only, the public of Netanyahu’s rivals wanted change, after so many years of holding the wheel. Despite all the amazing achievements of the Prime Minister – the vaccination campaign of the majority of the population, the stabilization of the economy, even in the opinion of non-Israeli factors, as well as his political achievements – there is a segment of voters who want change. And if Netanyahu wins, it can be said that he succeeded in breaking through the wall of hatred that began in 1996, beginning with his tenure as prime minister.
But these opinions do not push the media into the corner of the arena. We call most of them: the “Media Party.” This party, although it will not send elected representatives to the Knesset, has worked hard to achieve the desired goal, and to realize its platform, has sought to remove Netanyahu. It should be emphasized: it is the full right of commercial, private channels to adopt a critical, biased or sympathetic attitude towards the Prime Minister. This is the price a state pays for preserving the value of the free press, whose activities do not depend on public funds. No yes will be said about the functioning of the public media.
The Public Broadcasting Corporation is funded by public funds, and therefore it is its duty to reflect, as accurately as possible, all the opinions prevalent among the public. This rainbow of opinions is multifaceted, from end to end. Now, according to reports, the corporation is defying Netanyahu that as long as he refuses to give an interview to the Channel 11 news studio, as he was interviewed on Channels 12 and 13, he will be denied the opportunity to be interviewed by Russian-language RKA radio.
Needless to say at this time the importance of dialogue with Russian speakers. In our opinion, this condition, whether towards the Prime Minister or any other political figure, must not be presented by the public corporation. Whoever made this decision, ignored the fact that the functioning of the corporation must be guided by the principle of public service. Insult, or hurting the sense of artificial pride, should not guide decisions.
The Knesset has been employed by the public broadcaster for about a decade. This fact is hereby placed before the reader, and especially for his judgment, in view of the Knesset’s critical opinion of the corporation in this matter of interviewing the Prime Minister. However, the current critical approach is only sharpened due to the many years of work in public broadcasting and an intimate familiarity with the corporation’s goals and funding of public funds. It is hereby proposed to the people of the Prime Minister and the captains of the corporation to suck from the peace pipe. Will exchange a few words and the precipitation will be eliminated.