"The Democrats aren't allowing Channel 14 to cover the party primaries. Wow, congratulations for upholding freedom of expression. That’s democracy!" tweeted Yinon Magal, a star of the channel who once described himself as a "tool for conveying messages" for Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Democratic Party held primaries and barred the channel’s broadcaster from entering headquarters, and the channel used this to stage an ongoing on-air tantrum throughout the day of the Democratic primaries.

For instance, on the program called "The Noon News", broadcaster Ido Tauber scolded: "This is the democracy they are presenting to you, citizens of Israel: the party of the Democrats without anything democratic!" May Golan, a Likud minister embroiled in criminal allegations, appeared on the broadcast and offered an insight of her own: "People who are clearly undemocratic, people we have to thank simply for acknowledging our state's existence." She concluded: "Here is a party that first of all does not worry about Israel because it simply is not of Israel."

These quotes are just two examples from a full day of broadcasting, during which the channel’s presenters repeatedly referred to an event that according to them symbolized the trampling of press freedom and the destruction of freedom of expression.

This claim by Channel 14 and its presenters is wrong.

Actually, this claim is not just hypocritical; it is totally false, given Channel 14’s true nature as a propaganda outlet, its consistent attitude toward the Democrats, and the character of its overall coverage of the political arena.

First, Channel 14 is indeed a television channel, but it is certainly not a news channel or a journalistic media outlet, despite adopting the outward appearance and mannerisms of one, such as suit-clad presenters, studios, microphones, and the like. Channel 14 is purely a political propaganda tool.

Michael (right) and Yitzhak Mirilashvili (Photos: Itamar Ba'z and Ronen Goldman, CC BY-SA 3.0 license)

Comprehensive monitoring of Channel 14’s broadcasts by The Seventh Eye over the past few years leads to an unequivocal conclusion: the channel consistently serves Netanyahu and his government. It is loyal to the talking points of the prime minister, who is facing criminal charges, independent of any particular ideology. At the same time, the channel maintains a reciprocal relationship with Netanyahu’s government, which grant it regulatory benefits worth tens of millions of shekels annually and a huge advantage over other media outlets.

The channel's propagandistic character is enough to disqualify it as media, and it’s certainly not a journalistic outlet. What’s more, as consistent, comprehensive analyses over the years have shown, Channel 14 regularly broadcasts disinformation, conspiracy theories, hate speech, and racism, while inciting against the Israeli media and press as well as state institutions: judicial and law enforcement systems, academia, the security establishment, and others.

In addition, as previously noted, there is a particular absurdity in the specific complaint raised by the channel and its broadcasters about the Democratic party’s refusal to allow the channel’s broadcaster into party headquarters for "journalistic coverage." Channel 14 is not a journalistic media outlet but a propaganda channel, and so it does not "cover" issues but merely generates propaganda about them.

This is particularly noticeable when examining how the channel "covers" the party and its candidates, ranging from delegitimization to wild incitement.

Media personality Yinon Magal, screenshot from Channel 14

Describing this would require many pages of quotes from the channel’s broadcasts. Here are just a few recent representative examples: "I look at you and I see a death-eater," was said about party chairman Yair Golan on the program “The Patriots.” "He will send us to gulags," was said about him on the program “Riklin & Co.”

"The pure poison emanating from every person in the party ['the Democrats'], every candidate is among the most toxic individuals in the State of Israel," was said of the party on the program “Sheva.” "This group, ranging from delusion to lunacy to extremism, is the most extreme we have ever seen," was said on “Morning News.”

"I prefer to call it the Israeli fascist party," was said on another program. "In my view, it is the most extreme and dangerous party we have ever had here. Its extremism is directed inward with the aim of creating a rift within the State of Israel, fundamentally altering the system of government, and effectively destroying Israeli democracy."

In short: a propaganda platform that has spent months and years spewing filth and incitement against a party and its candidates cries foul when denied access to the party headquarters to "cover" it.

The propagandistic and inflammatory character of Channel 14’s "coverage" of the Democrats is not singular. The fact that it is a one-sided propaganda channel is demonstrated by the fact that it simply gives no voice to the opposition—or, indeed, to anyone who does not align with Netanyahu.

For example, an analysis by The Seventh Eye found that during the first two weeks of July, the channel did not interview or host a single opposition representative (a count of zero), compared with ten interviewees from the coalition, all of whom were from Likud. In other words, Channel 14, which makes a point of not providing a platform for opposition voices or politicians who oppose Netanyahu’s policies, resents the fact that those same politicians are boycotting it.

The audacity of the channel’s complaint that the boycott against it harms the press and free media is most symbolically illustrated by the identity of the boycotted "reporter."

Avraham Hasson, Channel 14’s “Knesset correspondent,” assumed the role directly from his position as spokesperson for Shlomo Karhi, the Likud Minister of Communications who, during the current Knesset term, spearheaded efforts to secure regulatory benefits for the channel while undermining its competitors.

Incidentally, we checked this as well: tracking Hasson’s "reports" reveals that he continued to serve Karhi even as a "correspondent" for Channel 14, to promote him politically and act against his rivals within Likud.

This article was published in Hebrew on July 21, 2026
Translation: Harriet Brown