Israeli Radio Host Apologizes to Pollster for Accusations of Lying
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Israeli radio host Eyal Berkovich apologized on air to pollster Shlomo Philber for calling him a liar, after Philber's election predictions for the Likud party's seat count proved accurate. While Philber's forecast of 27-30 seats for Likud aligned with partial results showing 27 seats, his projections for the overall bloc totals differed significantly from the current vote count. Discrepancies were also noted for several other parties between the polls and the partial results.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Eyal Berkovich apologized on air to pollster Shlomo Philber for calling him a liar.
- Philber's election forecast of 27-30 seats for the Likud party aligned with partial results.
- Partial results show the Likud at 27 seats after 77.6% of votes were counted.
- Bloc projections in Philber's polls differed significantly from current partial results.
- Discrepancies were also observed for Yisrael Beiteinu, Yisrael Beiteinu, Bayit Yehudi, and Shas.
Radio host Eyal Berkovich publicly apologized on air to Channel 14 pollster Shlomo Philber on Wednesday, admitting Philber was correct in his predictions for the Likud party's seat count. Berkovich stated on 103FM radio that he had accused Philber of lying, but now retracted that statement and expressed his respect for Philber's accuracy.
Berkovich's apology came after Philber's election forecasts for the Likud party proved to be close to the partial election results. Philber had predicted 27 to 30 seats for the Likud, and Berkovich specifically apologized for calling him a liar. The apology follows a controversy during the election campaign surrounding Channel 14's polls, which showed higher numbers for the Likud compared to other media outlets.
In the final poll released by NEXT DATA, led by Philber five days before the election, the Likud was projected to receive 30 seats. A subsequent poll published on election night also gave the Likud 30 seats. As of the latest partial results, with 77.6% of votes counted, the Likud stands at 27 seats, falling within Philber's predicted range.
However, significant discrepancies exist between Philber's poll results and the partial real-time results regarding the bloc totals. An initial Channel 14 poll showed 60 seats for the right-wing bloc and 43 for the opposition, with 17 for Arab parties. This was later updated to 62 seats for the right-wing bloc before decreasing again. Current results show the coalition bloc at 54 seats, the opposition at 49, and Arab parties at 17.
Other parties also showed differences between the polls and partial results. Gadi Eisenkot's Yisrael Beiteinu party was predicted to get 19 seats in a Channel 14 poll, but currently has 22. Naftali Bennett's Bayit Yehudi party received 11 seats in the poll versus 12 in the results. The Joint List was predicted 10 seats, now has 11. Shas received 9 seats in the poll, but currently has 7, while United Torah Judaism received 7 seats in both the poll and results. Yisrael Beiteinu, initially predicted to not pass the electoral threshold with 4 seats, now stands at 7 seats.
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