Channel 14 Airs Fake Exclusive Interview Mistaking Neighbor for Former Military Advocate

On August 16, Channel 14 broadcast an "exclusive" interview purportedly with former military advocate Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi. The channel's reporter, Meir Shmatzov, approached a woman on the street, asking her about a plea deal and whether she intended to apologize to soldiers from Unit 100 following a leaked video of abuse against a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teyman. However, the woman filmed was not Tomer Yerushalmi but her neighbor, who resembles her closely. The neighbor, walking her dog, declined to comment and tried to avoid the reporter, who pressed her with questions. She reportedly said she did not want to be interviewed, unaware the footage would imply she was the former military advocate. This incident was revealed on Daniel Amram's X account. Channel 14 declined to comment on the mistake.

This is not the first controversy involving reporter Meir Shmatzov. Two months prior, he called the bereaved mother Manuela Dviri, whose son was killed in Lebanon in 1998, and confronted her aggressively during a recorded phone call. Dviri later said Shmatzov did not identify himself as a reporter or inform her the call was being recorded. She described the experience as deeply distressing and criticized the channel's approach to elderly individuals.

The mistaken identity interview and Shmatzov's prior conduct have raised questions about Channel 14's journalistic practices and ethics, especially in sensitive military and personal matters. The channel has so far refused to respond to inquiries about these incidents.