Itamar Fleishman Apologizes to Yair Lapid After Calling Him 'Helping Nazis' on Channel 14

Itamar Fleishman issued a live on-air apology to Opposition Leader Yair Lapid on July 30, 2026, after calling him "helping Nazis" during the Channel 14 program "The Patriots." The apology followed a legal warning letter Lapid sent to Channel 14 and Fleishman, demanding a public retraction and threatening a defamation lawsuit. Fleishman admitted the comparison was inappropriate and expressed regret for using such language, emphasizing that he does not believe Lapid is a Nazi but stood by his criticism of Lapid's political stance.

Lapid's legal notice highlighted that Fleishman's remarks were not a slip of the tongue and were repeated despite objections from another panelist. The letter stressed that equating a Jewish public figure, whose father was a Holocaust victim, with Nazis constitutes severe defamation beyond protected free speech. Lapid demanded an immediate public apology on the show and warned of legal action if ignored.

During the apology segment, host Yinon Magal expressed confusion over Fleishman's apology, but Fleishman insisted it was necessary. The controversy began after Lapid's interview on "The Lead" where he described Jewish violence in the West Bank as "Jewish terror" and called for a police and Border Police crackdown, distinguishing these extremists from settlers. Fleishman accused Lapid of fueling antisemitic conspiracies in the U.S. and compared Lapid's rhetoric to Nazi propaganda, citing figures like Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes as spreading antisemitic narratives.

Fleishman initially refused to retract his statements on social media, challenging Lapid to sue him, but later apologized on air. Lapid responded on social media calling Fleishman's remarks "toxic madness" and reiterated his intent to sue. The dispute underscores tensions within Israeli politics and media over rhetoric related to Jewish extremism and antisemitism.

Key panelist Guy Maroz dissented from Fleishman's Nazi comparisons, warning against trivializing the term. Fleishman's apology included a commitment not to use such language again, acknowledging the sensitivity given Lapid's family history as Holocaust survivors.