Last September, immediately after being sentenced to 45 days in prison, Sheffi Paz took to Twitter and posted: "45 days in prison. For graffiti."

This statement was already misleading in its first part and false in its second. But Paz's tweet signaled the start of an entire media campaign, distorted and false, which reached its peak about two weeks ago with the anti-asylum seeker activist's entry into Neve Tirza prison. The campaign was naturally led by Channel 14, the propaganda and misinformation channel that serves Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Contrary to Paz's claim, she didn't go to prison because of graffiti. She was convicted, based on her own confession, of four counts of behavior likely to disturb public peace, three counts of conspiracy to commit an offense, five counts of property damage, and criminal trespassing.

The last charge refers to an incident that occurred on December 15, 2020. During a Hanukkah party at the "Unitaf" kindergarten in Tel Aviv, which serves children of the foreign community, Paz and her accomplice Ilya Grantovsky snuck into the kindergarten grounds. A child's mother entered the access code at the entrance gate, went inside, and the two followed her. Once inside, Paz filmed the kindergarten director and the children and even confronted the teacher. Paz and Grantovsky refused to leave until security arrived.

That same day, immediately after being removed from the kindergarten, Paz and Grantovsky went to the Levinsky Clinic in Tel Aviv and filmed themselves confronting the staff there. Only when security arrived did they agree to leave.

Thus, the claim about unprecedented and exceptional prison sentence for graffiti is baseless.

But even the very pride in the prison sentence is misplaced. During the sentencing hearing held last May, Paz made clear to the court: "I refuse to do community service, and if the court orders imprisonment, I will serve actual prison time."

Later, in a statement to the court, Paz reiterated that she "maintains her refusal to the possibility of serving the prison sentence [...] through community service."

In other words, Paz could have avoided going to prison, like her friends who were convicted with her. In fact, this is what the state would have requested if only the defendant had agreed. But Paz insisted on being sent to prison with the aim of becoming a martyr. And this is where Channel 14 entered the picture.

"Justice Fighter" Against "Selective Enforcement"

As can be learned from the series of "Truth Alert" reports about Channel 14 content published here in recent months, one of the recurring motifs in the propaganda and misinformation channel's broadcasts is encouraging criminality and supporting criminals.

The coverage of Paz's trial and imprisonment, an activist from the "Front for the Liberation of South Tel Aviv," demonstrates how the channel mobilizes, under the guise of news reporting and through the use of fake news, disinformation and incitement, in favor of someone convicted of multiple offenses, to turn her into a hero of the fight against the rule of law.

Even before the sentencing in the current case, Paz received extensive platform on the channel's programs. Among others, she appeared on September 16 on "Fatchi and Shai" for a conversation under the title: "Justice fighter, social activist Sheffi Paz on the arrests, legal battles and selective enforcement."

On September 23, the eve of her sentencing hearing, Paz appeared on the channel's flagship program, "The Patriots", where she received support from all sides and was given the platform to extensively present her arguments.

Paz claimed to "The Patriots" viewers that the sentence she received wasn't really related to the criminal offenses she admitted to. "I'm going to prison because I have the audacity to hurt the progressives' sacred cow, and it's all political," she said.

As her prison entry approached, Channel 14's machine went into high gear, with more and more distorted reports about the circumstances that led Paz to imprisonment. On the November 14 "Israel This Morning" program, they decided to dedicate a discussion to Paz's sentence. Program host Tal Meir opened with the false statement that "Today Sheffi Paz enters prison for 45 days because of graffiti she sprayed. This discrimination, this selective enforcement is simply unbelievable."

The panel guests also expressed outrage. "It's unbelievable that a 70-year-old woman is sent to prison for graffiti [...] when talking about selective enforcement this is the most obvious example, Sheffi Paz," claimed Nava Boker.

Noga Arbel, a regular panelist and researcher from the Kohelet Forum explained that "our 'bypass' legal system suffers from ongoing hubris [...] after 30 years of Meretz civics studies, which instead of teaching people democracy switched to teaching them communist collectivism."

And Lt. Col. Shosh Raban raised her voice and called in her name and in the name of the people of Israel "for the immediate release of Sheffi Paz if only due to selective enforcement, not to mention that she really didn't do anything [...] First of all justice system, we see you. You've become a disgrace, zero public trust in Israel in this system."

Between Paz and Feldstein

Channel 14 covered Paz's conviction and imprisonment through a narrative remarkably similar to how it covered the Feldstein-Netanyahu case: persecution, selective enforcement and abuse, by the ruling elite, meaning the justice system, law enforcement system and "the progress," against the system's victim, who simply found themselves on the wrong political side.

This parallel could be seen simply from watching the channel's broadcasts. But there was also someone who said it explicitly: Yotam Zimri, a Channel 14 personality, himself.

Along with his channel colleague Itamar Fleishman, Zimri documented Paz in the two days before her entry into Neve Tirza prison to serve her sentence. The long report that resulted was broadcast on Saturday night, November 23, immediately after "The Patriots" program which Zimri also hosted.

At the end of "The Patriots" broadcast, and before airing the extended report about Paz, Zimri described the connection between the two cases: "We spoke here with Eli Feldstein's brother, it's about the same story. It's how the state decides to abuse whoever it wants and forgive those it likes more. This is Sheffi Paz, she tells everything, a very special woman, 72 years old, now in prison."

The Spin Crowned Successfully

As in previous Channel 14 publications, Zimri and Fleishman's extensive report also included claims of persecution and selective enforcement based on fake news and disinformation. Paz is defined in the film as a "social activist" and presented as a true justice fighter. Throughout the film, Zimri and Fleishman minimize her criminal and delinquent acts over the years against the asylum seeker community and against human rights organizations and activists who assist them.

At the beginning of the film, during a pastoral tour Paz conducted with Zimri and Fleishman in the Hatikva Market, a shop owner approaches Paz and tells her "If today you belonged to Meretz, surely you wouldn't be going to prison. If you had demonstrated in the Kaplan protests, and burned boards and almost set a police officer on fire, that's allowed in life." The spin, if there was any doubt, was crowned successfully.

On her way to Neve Tirza, during a car ride, Paz is seen receiving a phone call from "Galei Israel" radio: "Good morning, you're on your way to prison for spraying graffiti that doesn't fit the spirit of the legal elite here," they tell her on the phone, further cementing the lie.

When Paz arrives at the prison gates, she encounters a support demonstration. Among others, comedian and restaurateur Uri Melamed participates. "Sheffi Paz is going in for graffiti to prison," he says, "dozens of people are celebrating on Ayalon as if nothing happened."

Among the other protesters, alongside former MK Michael Ben Ari and right-wing activist Elisha Yered, there are also those who take the message several steps forward. Musician Ariel Zilber is documented singing to the protesters: "It's time to throw out the judges, and along the way also the prosecutors, the Noh'ba soldiers aren't killed, they just eat, drink and celebrate..."

"I came to fight the rule of law gang," Tzvika Mor, father of Eitan who is held hostage in Gaza, tells Channel 14's camera. Without any clear connection to the demonstration supporting Paz, Mor declares: "The Kaplanists are wearing down the Prime Minister and I'll be there to try to prevent this thing, this circus."

Paz herself claims before entering Neve Tirza that she is "going to prison because I came out against the justice system and came out against immigration, and these are the two sacred cows of progress." She concludes her words with the call: "My message is - reform now."

Fleishman and Zimri conclude their report with another manipulative statement. With the closed prison gates behind them, they say: "Through this door entered a 72-year-old woman, after persecution, abuse and selective enforcement of the legal system against her. And if you want to understand how serious this is and how terrible this is, see what people weren't indicted against, certainly didn't go to prison, and this is what they did all last year."

Against the background of the closing credits, a collection of photos appears on screen showing graffiti spraying and confrontations from demonstrations on Kaplan and Begin streets in Tel Aviv, including a march led by Shikma Bressler and Moshe Radman. "Democracy they tell you," Zimri concludes.

With democracy rhetoric in their throats, Channel 14 doesn't cease to incite against anyone who dares to express an opinion different from Prime Minister Netanyahu's, whether it's the Opposition Leader, the Shin Bet chief or the IDF Chief of Staff. In parallel, and in the name of fighting the rule of law, they encourage crime and delinquency. From their own calls to commit war crimes in Gaza, through soldiers accused of violence in "Sdeh Teiman" base who became honored guests on the channel, to the new heroes of the new elite, people like Sheffi Paz.

This is also why Channel 14 is a new and dangerous type of threat to democracy in Israel.