A sharp online dispute broke out between journalist Amit Segal and TheMarker reporter Simi Spolter after Spolter criticized how Donald Trump’s remarks about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were presented. Spolter posted screenshots from the Telegram channels of Michael Shemesh and Segal, showing different versions of the same Trump quote.
In Shemesh’s channel, Trump was quoted as saying, “I had good relations with Bibi, but he needs to be more responsible in Lebanon.” In Segal’s channel, only the line “Netanyahu needs to be more responsible in Lebanon” appeared. Spolter said, “The same quote from the same person is being amplified in 2 Telegram channels. One journalist, the other a mouthpiece.”
Segal responded personally and mockingly, writing, “And I keep wondering, what is wrong with core studies, especially English? Where do you get the nerve to be so stupid on purpose, entirely of your own initiative?” He then added, “The Haredi ignorance, the arrogance thanks to TheMarker, and so he is not afraid to show he has no idea what present perfect is, and still explain to others how to translate.”
Spolter replied that Segal “as usual blocks and then rushes to tweet.” He then said, “Let’s make this short: 1. I am American, a native English speaker, try your condescension toward Haredim on someone else. 2. My criticism is not about how it was translated, but why he chose to translate it that way.” Spolter also alleged that Segal has “a fairly transparent bias” in his Telegram channel and said it was “interesting” that Segal did not respond to similar claims he had raised before.
