Right-wing Israeli TV channel boots pundit for calling to free Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin
Ari Shamai, who has represented Amir in legal proceedings, was interrupted by his fellow panelists as members of the audience applauded.
A right-wing TV channel in Israel has banned a guest from its programs after he called for the release of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin, drawing applause from the audience.
Ari Shamai, a lawyer, made the remark on Sunday amid discussion of an Israeli Supreme Court decision that barred a right-wing candidate from running this year for mayor of Tiberias, a northern Israeli city.
Shamai has voiced support for the Israeli government’s ongoing effort to weaken the Supreme Court. The first element of that effort passed last week and has sparked ongoing mass protests across Israel.
On Sunday, conflict between the governing coalition and the judiciary continued, as the Supreme Court postponed the implementation of a law that would have allowed the mayoral candidate to run.
Shamai said the ruling amounted to a condemnation of “personal laws” meant to benefit one individual, and suggested that legislation denying the possibility of parole to Yigal Amir, Rabin’s assassin, was also an example of a “personal law.”
“The time has come to free the assassin Yigal Amir,” Shamai said on Sunday on “The Patriots,” a panel show on Israeli Channel 14. “Because personal laws were also legislated against him.”
Shamai, who has represented Amir in legal proceedings, was interrupted by his fellow panelists as members of the audience applauded. Following the incident, Channel 14 barred Shamai from its programs and, according to the Israeli publication Walla, cut his statement from replays of the discussion.
“The severe words that Ari Shamai said reflect his opinion only,” the channel said in a statement. “In light of the severity of the statements, Mr. Shamai will no longer be invited to appear on the channel’s programs.”
On Monday, Strauss Group, one of Israel’s leading food manufacturers, sent a letter to Channel 14 informing the network that it would pause its advertising due to “various hurtful expressions.”
It did not mention Shamai’s statement specifically, but added, “We choose to advertise according to a code of ethics and demand the same from all of the channels and media platforms.”
Channel 14 responded to the letter by calling it an “embarrassing statement of condescension and an attempt at reeducation,” according to Raz Shechnik, a reporter for the Yediot Aharonot newspaper.
Shamai is one among several voices on the right who have called for Amir’s freedom. In 2008, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician who now serves as Israel’s national security minister, promoted a film calling for Amir’s release.
More recently, a senior aide to Ben-Gvir has taken an active role in a nonprofit that donates money to the assassin and other Jewish extremists serving prison terms.
This is not the first time Shamai has stirred controversy on Channel 14. In February, amid protests of the judicial overhaul, he was suspended from the channel for saying that the legislation’s opponents were descended from Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto who declined to fight the Nazis.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.