Watch: Yaakov Bardugo explains why he refuses to be interviewed on Channel 12

Yaakov Bardugo, a Likud candidate for the Knesset and former Channel 14 commentator, explained in an interview with Yehuda Shlezinger on Channel 14 why he refuses to be interviewed on Channel 12. According to him, the refusal is principled and not due to lack of availability: "It is forbidden to go to a channel that defamed IDF soldiers." Bardugo criticized the channel's conduct during the war and its hosts' treatment of political interviewees.

Yaakov Bardugo, a Likud candidate for the Knesset and former political commentator for Channel 14, addressed in an interview with Yehuda Shlezinger on Channel 14 his decision not to be interviewed on Channel 12. According to him, the refusal is not due to lack of availability — several of the channel's programs approached the Likud spokesperson's office requesting to interview him — but rather a principled decision. "First of all, I don't want to be interviewed on Channel 12. Channel 12, which defamed IDF soldiers," he said, adding: "Whoever does not get interviewed on a channel that defamed IDF soldiers is apparently nonexistent." Bardugo criticized the treatment that, he claims, the channel's hosts give to political interviewees, saying: "The easy questions channel they called it, right? Those are the same ones who ask and caress," while mentioning the program formerly hosted by Ofira Asayag and Eyal Berkovich. He further attacked: "No, they are the defaming channel of the State of Israel." He also addressed the publication of a video that, he said, portrayed IDF soldiers in a negative light and gained international circulation: "Over 100 million people worldwide, it reached The Hague, watched the horror video, and to this day they have not seen fit to apologize." During the interview, he was asked about his relative absence from the media since entering politics. Shlezinger raised the possibility that it is a strategy to save appearances for after the holidays, but Bardugo dismissed this: "They didn't save me. It's abnormal to make this reversal. I myself also needed a bit of calm." According to him, the transition from frequent appearances as a commentator to the status of a candidate forced him to stop and adapt to his new role.