Ayala Hasson refuses Kan 11 ultimatum to read pre-approved apology on air

Journalist Ayala Hasson refused a demand by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation to read a management-dictated apology on air for remarks about Bedouin women and Arab-sector voting, leading to her suspension from her show.

Mati Tuchfeld's article on Channel 14 deals with the storm surrounding Ayala Hasson, a journalist on Kan 11. Hasson apologized for her remarks, and the corporation's ethics committee accepted the apology, but the corporation's management demands that she read a pre-drafted text on air, otherwise she will not return to the screen. The writer claims this is a 'small dictatorship' and 'deliberate silencing' of the right-wing voice in the corporation, with alleged hypocrisy towards other offensive statements. He accuses the management of censorship and preventing freedom of expression, and notes that the public pays billions for the corporation but receives a 'closed club'.