PMO lambastes journalist 'seeking to topple the government'

The Prime Minister's Office leveled scathing criticism at Channel 2 News investigative journalist Ilana Dayan on Monday, saying she has "made it her mission" to topple the government.

Dayan, who hosts the acclaimed investigative and current affairs program "Uvda" ("Fact"), aired a report on the Prime Minister's Office, alleging various administrative improprieties, including that Netanyahu's wife, Sara, regularly interferes with professional appointments within the bureau.

"It is time to remove the mask Ilana Dayan has been wearing. She has proved, time and again, that she lacks even an ounce of professional integrity. Dayan is one [of the journalists] leading an orchestrated assault against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, designed solely to topple the right-wing government and install a leftist government," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement, which Dayan read on the show in full.

"Moreover, Dayan has made no secret of her intentions. Just two weeks ago, she declared war against the prime minister at a conference held by the new public broadcaster, when she said, 'We have to wage this fight like no other.' Well, she kept her word. Tonight's [Monday's] show is nothing but political propaganda against the prime minister and his wife, recycling distorted gossip and malicious lies.

"Dayan's animosity toward the prime minister is known, as it her opinion of those who vote for him. When she interviewed U.S. President Barack Obama [in June 2015], she said, 'The majority of the Israeli public voted for Netanyahu -- that's part of the problem.' Ilana Dayan, it seems, doesn’t only have a problem with Prime Minister Netanyahu, but with the Israeli public as well."

"Dayan's 'journalism' is political propaganda in disguise," the statement continued. "In an interview with Ari Shavit in Haaretz in 2010, she said of Ehud Olmert, who at the time was suspected of serious corruption, 'We might have lost an excellent prime minister.' It's not that complicated: Dayan offers a right-wing prime minister ongoing slander -- as clearly evident by the latest propaganda -- while handling a left-wing prime minister with kid gloves. In 2012 she rallied to Olmert's aid again, with a friendly interview while he was standing trial for corruption.

"Dayan is a radical leftist, who sees the Judea and Samaria settlement enterprise as 'land theft' and Haaretz as a source of 'comfort' and 'sanity.' Here, too, she is true to her word: She has participated in fundraisers for the New Israel Fund, and in 2008 this anti-Zionist organization even gave her a 'special commendation.' Dayan donated the prize money to the Women Lawyers for Social Justice, an association that slandered IDF soldiers at the Goldstone commission," the statement said, referring to the U.N. appointed commission of inquiry into Israel's 2008 military campaign against terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip.

"Targeting Israeli soldiers is nothing new for Dayan. In 2004 she wrongfully accused Capt. R. of killing a Palestinian girl. Capt. R. was exonerated in military court. The [Tel Aviv] District Court ruled that Dayan's report was a 'distortion of the truth' and the Supreme Court stated that the report constitutes slander.

"Dayan recently held an ingratiating interview with Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas]. Rather than challenging him over his appalling, inciting statement that he 'welcomes every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem,' she chose to cower before him over Elor Azaria. He [Azaria] is facing trial and is innocent until proven otherwise, but Dayan told Abu Mazen she was 'ashamed' by the incident."

The statement was referring to the fact that Azaria was filmed killing an incapacitated terrorist in Hebron in March. He is currently facing manslaughter charges.

'The public has lost all faith in mainstream media'

"After Dayan aired one (!) show on the damage extreme leftist groups inflict [on Israel], she rushed to apologize to the radical Left: 'These people do very important work. ... There was room to further underscore what human rights groups are doing for the Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills.' She didn’t dare air the second part of the report.

"The public has long since lost all faith in mainstream media, over their unbridled assaults on the prime minister and the Likud government. Tonight, Dayan's show has proven the public right. It's no wonder that so many people refused to be interviewed [for the broadcast]. They know the results are rigged."

Dayan, the statement continued, "also chose to once again slander Sara Netanyahu, who -- even as the prime minister's wife and in an unprecedented manner -- has continued in her work as a child psychologist, all while working tirelessly for Holocaust survivors, lone soldiers, battered women, cancer patients, bereaved families, and victims of terrorism. But none of that warrants a special on Dayan's show. She has sunk to new lows in an attempt to undermine the prime minister by going after his family.

"Dayan's show tonight illustrates exactly why the Israeli media sphere must undergo a reform. The prime minister is determined to open this market to competition and introduce diverse opinions, alongside efficient public broadcasting. He will do so -- even if Ilana Dayan continues with her propaganda twice a week," the statement concluded.

The harsh criticism the Prime Minister's Office leveled at Dayan personally sparked a political firestorm, with the Yesh Atid, Meretz and Zionist Union parties saying Netanyahu had gone too far and that the statement was tantamount to "incitement."

Zionist Union MK Shelly Yachimovich called the statement "one of the most difficult moments in the history of free journalism in Israel. ... This is a fight for our basic values. A fight for the right to live in the only democracy in the Middle East.

Meretz leader Zehava Galon said the statement "proved Netanyahu was unfit to be prime minister. If Netanyahu doesn't want to be the subject of investigative journalism reports he should have chosen another career."

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said, "The real problem in the prime minister's response to Ilana Dayan is what it just did to the institution called the Prime Minister's Office. This was unbecoming of the position of the prime minister."

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