News Channel 13 Under Fire for Interview with Moshe Feiglin

Channel 13 and its owner, Assaf Rappaport, are facing strong criticism following an interview conducted by anchor Shai Golden with Moshe Feiglin, chairman of the far-right Zehut party. Feiglin, who has allied with Bezalel Smotrich and the Religious Zionism party for the upcoming elections on October 27, expressed views deemed offensive by critics.

Ilan Shiloah, a new owner of the channel, launched a scathing attack on Twitter, accusing Rappaport and Channel 13's editors of allowing Feiglin, whom Shiloah described as "against LGBTQ+ people, women, for killing babies in Gaza, and for transfer," to be interviewed. Shiloah criticized Golden for attempting to balance Feiglin's views with those of attorney Gaia, stating, "Balance between someone who is for murder and rape and someone who is against." He directly addressed Rappaport, questioning the wisdom of buying the channel only to permit such content and asking if he intended to emulate platforms like Meta and Twitter in spreading "false poison."

Tal Harir-Sover, a journalist for TheMarker, joined the criticism, posting that Golden, whose presence on Channel 13 she questioned, should be removed. She condemned Golden for personally wishing Feiglin success and for allegedly bullying attorney Gaia Gefen, who had stated Feiglin's views were dangerous. Harir-Sover suggested Golden should learn interviewing skills from other Channel 13 anchors, Han Liberman and Gili Cohen, who she felt were less impressed by Feiglin's style and substance.