"Take care of yourself," morning show host Shai Golden asked Channel 14's envoy to cover the demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Ati Shalev, as if he were sending a soldier into life-threatening battle. It was early in the morning and the Kaplan junction was still empty of demonstrators, but the two agreed on air that the chances of the reporter kidnapping leftists were higher than average.
Maktazit was used against demonstrators who tried to block Ayalon // Police Spokesperson's Office
How did journalists prepare for the worst when they go out to report from the field? The root of the problem lies in the fact that the media no longer functions as a neutral and balanced body. Today, everyone represents something or works for someone, and channels have become pawns and mouthpieces in the struggle between the blocs.
As soon as the media volunteered to be biased on its own initiative, it was immediately painted as a legitimate target in the eyes of the opposing party. As a result, public outrage against all news outlets has intensified in recent months, and many journalists have been physically assaulted.
When the broadcasting station is the focus of the action
The reporter of 14 remained standing in the same spot and waited. By noon, the intersection was filled with demonstrators. Because, unlike the competing reporters, Channel 14 advocates an approach of standing still and laconically reciting to the camera (instead of wandering between the scenes or talking to prominent people in the field), then a situation arises in which their stationary broadcasting station becomes a focal point in itself, and demonstrators gather around it to protest. "The people here didn't come to attack me personally, but Channel 14. They attacked the right-wing camp," Shalev explained in one of his reports.
Demonstrators at the Kaplan junction near the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv at this moment, photo: AFP
After a flurry of hysterical reports that included pushing, cursing and shouting, a man who had watched him on television approached the reporter and volunteered to secure his own on the battlefield. Later, he was joined by a few more warm-hearted spectators, and suddenly a human and Bibist defensive wall formed between him and the demonstrators who had come to cover their actions.
Riklin's poetics
"If the good people hadn't protected us, it would have ended in a lynching," he later told Shimon Riklin, recounting that he asked a police officer for protection, who replied, "You're stirring things up" and suggested the journalist step aside. Riklin summed up in his poetic way: "There have been other times in history when Jews have been told that their very presence in all kinds of places inflames the spirits."
His time was the loudest, most dramatic and populist, but he is not the only one. On Channel 13, Roni Shchuczynski reported from Kaplan about the interference with the broadcast by his colleague from Channel 14, but he had not yet finished condemning him and was already attacked by a shouting woman. "Just a moment ago we condemned, and here we are getting exactly the same thing," he concluded angrily.
Road closures following the demonstrations, photo: Ariel Shalit
Meanwhile, on the 12th, Yaron Avraham, a representative of Brothers in Arms, who was sitting next to him, demanded a written condemnation of the attack on Channel 14. An attack that was, frankly, solid and did not deviate from the Israeli practice of pushing, nastiness, threatening movements and claims of breaking equipment. Not legitimate, but at the same time two photojournalists were beaten by police at a demonstration in the north, and reporter Meir Marciano was pushed by a police officer live on 13. If it is possible to get a daily summary so that we know how many more condemnations need to be heard, that would be more convenient.
Even when the demonstration dispersed, Ati Shalev remained in the same slot below Azrieli Mall. In the afternoon, the crowd around him changed, and a majority of peripheral youth were created during a summer vacation who went shopping in Tel Aviv. "Only Bibi! Let the leftists burn, amen," two shouted to him in an early edition report; He was later attacked by a group that made faces at the camera, surrounding him for mutual pushing during the broadcast. Just cradle boys who were thrilled to be on TV. Add them to the list of condemnations.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us