Ophira Assayag Confronts Haim Levinson on Air, Accuses Him of Betrayal

Journalist Haim Levinson returned to the Keshet 12 studio on Friday for the first time since his professional split with Ophira Assayag. Levinson appeared as a guest on the program "Ophira Ohana Sari," where he met with his former co-host from "Ophira and Levinson." The two engaged in a personal discussion about the crisis that led to the end of their partnership.

Assayag directly addressed her feelings about the separation, telling Levinson, "Basically, you betrayed me. But we'll talk about the betrayal personally soon." Levinson responded, "You betrayed me? I don't know, that's a bit of a harsh word," but Assayag insisted, "No, no, no, no, no. Harsh is Ophira. I define what I feel, you know me, right? Haim, you betrayed me."

Assayag further stated that the split was a significant personal blow, adding, "I took it hard. I'll tell you more, I took the breakup with you harder than the breakup with Barakovitz." When asked why, Levinson differentiated the partnerships, noting that his collaboration with Assayag was much shorter. "With Barakovitz, you were together for 18 years, one should know," he said, implying a longer partnership might be expected to end. Levinson explained that their partnership lasted only a year and a half, suggesting it was cut short prematurely. Assayag concluded, "It was harder for me."

The reunion comes months after an affair that led to Levinson's departure from the newspaper "Haaretz" and his exit from the joint program with Assayag. Reports at the time indicated Levinson received approximately NIS 200,000 from "Perception," a company owned by political consultant Sharlik Einhorn, for work done between 2019 and 2024. Levinson confirmed working for the company but denied any connection to the Qatar affair and claimed ignorance of Einhorn's ties to Qatar. He later admitted he erred by not disclosing the business engagement, especially given his journalistic coverage of the affair. Following the exposure, Levinson resigned from the program, stating that "journalism is based on trust" and that he felt it was appropriate to step down due to the damage to viewer trust. Assayag continued hosting the show, later joined by Eli Ohana and Dani Sari, renaming it "Ophira Ohana Sari."