Incitement at Kol Israel (IBA):
Tomy Lapid attacked Israel's Media Watch

Israel's Media Watch (IMW) Update Report # 6
January 4, 1999

On December 4th last, Tomy Lapid, on his weekly personal opinion
radio program broadcast over Kol Yisrael radio, attacked Israel's
Media Watch, as well as a newly-created Leftist media group,
"Keshev", headed by a former 'Betselem' director.
He accused IMW and its founder, Eli Pollak, with 'distorting reality',
'falsifying', 'McCarthyism', 'pseudo-scientific research' and intimated
that IMW's activity would cause the hanging of journalists.

Right of reply ?

After negotiations with Kol Yisrael director Amnon Nadav via
his spokeswoman, Carmela Yisraeli, as well as IBA's Ombudsman,
Viktor Grayevsky, we were instructed to forward to Mr. Lapid our
response, as is our right according to the law.  We had originally
wanted to read out the response ourselves, or at the very least,
have a third party read it as we did not trust Mr. Lapid to faithfully
broadcast our reply.

On his program of January 1, 1999, Mr. Lapid read out out response,
leaving out one important line which read: "we protest the serious
intimation in his words that our activity could possibly lead to the
hanging of journalists", as well as another sentence in which we
asserted that "our efforts assure a reliable, pluralistic, balanced
and professional public broadcasting.  Our involvement is a
significant civic contribution to the strengthening of Israel's
democractic foundations".

In our response, we noted that inflammatory language used
on occasion by Mr. Lapid, including such terms as "fascist",
"evil deed" and "McCarthyism", should not be heard as it
negates the IBA ethics guidelines and "if he can't stop himself,
then the microphone should be taken from him".

After reading our censored response, Lapid then he added
the following comment:
"To my credit, it should be said that from a political point of view,
my words were balanced between a censure of the left and a
censure of the right...Not McCarthyism, God forbid, and not
the prevention of speech.  Just a suggestion to take from me
the microphone.
And so, the time has come to purify the media from doubtful
characters such as myself who contaminate the clean air that
Yisrael Medad would otherwise breathe if I wasn't in existence."

Mr. Lapid carefully selected his terminology, utilizing words that once
again were violent in nature and abusive.  Worse, he drew upon images
that recall antisemitic literature such as "purify" and "contaminate". 
Once again, he suggested that IMW is interested in his physical removal.

Lapid's performance, whom some may say borders on the pathological,
is the most forceful indication that Israel's public broadcasting must
protect itself from persons who would exploit their personal connections
(Lapid was a former IBA Director-General), his profession
(he is the Ma'ariv newspaper's editorial writer), his nepotism (his son,
Yair, writes for Ma'ariv and formerly worked for IBA's Channel One
television, quit and is now an interview show host on IBA's cable
channel.  He, too, violated an ethics guideline in selectively reading out
an Army document regarding the deferrment of a popular rock star)
and his own 'old boy' media connections (for several years
he was a permanent panel member of the now-defunct raucous
"Popolitika" current affairs program of IBA's Channel One TV,
reportedly receiving $1,000 per weekly show and is now a permanent
panel member of TV's Channel Two "It's All Politics" program).

IMW has already noted that Lapid was personally reprimanded by
IBA D-G Uri Porat for a particularly odious column against the
ultra-orthodox community and instructed not to broadcast in
such a manner.  (see IMW Update Report # 5, Dec. 24, 1998)
Several years ago, he had to apologize to a "Popolitika" guest, an
orthodox Rabbi and Member of Knesset, after hurling at him the
abusive epithet "you are a traitor to Israel's God".

IMW has complained to IBA authorities and will continue to monitor
Lapid's media performance.  We are querying the policy of Kol Yisrael
in the matter of all personal opinion programs.  We want to know for how
long can such a show be awarded to one person?  why is there inadequate
balance?  is material reviewed?  are injured parties granted the right of
reply on a regular basis?

Join & Support IMW's activities to assure
fair, reliable and pluralistic public broadcasting
on Israel's public electronic media:
POB 6023 Jerusalem 91060
Tel: 02-6236425  Fax: 02-6236426
E-mail: isrmedia@netvision.net.il
Web site:  www.oocities.org/capitolhill/2527

IMW is a registered non-profit organization, a non-partisan civic advocacy group whose major aim is assuring the ethical, professional, legal standards and fair conduct of the Israeli media. 

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