The Israel Police on Sunday canceled the scheduled appearance of dozens of its officers as audience members on the Independence Day segment of a right-wing talk show, after the prospect of their participation sparked controversy.
The move, first reported by Ynet, was a last-minute reversal from last week, when police defended the plan to send some 70 officers — including senior members of the force — to attend the filming of The Patriots, the flagship show of the conservative, pro-government Channel 14.
The segment was set to be filmed on Monday and would have aired on Independence Day, which falls on Wednesday.
The appearance wouldn’t have been the first time security forces in uniform were invited to join a talk show’s studio audience for Independence Day. But the show and its firebrand host, Yinon Magal, are known for making contentious statements, and critics say its pundits and anchors frequently engage in incendiary and hyperbolic rhetoric against those it perceives as hostile to the government.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, whose ministry oversees the police, is a frequent guest on the show.
The filming was set to take place during work hours. Speaking to Haaretz, unnamed sources in law enforcement vented frustration at the prospect of sending police to take part in a show with an unabashed ideological perspective.
Police had initially defended the planned appearance of the officers in a statement to Hebrew media outlets, saying they were to be joined by medics, firefighters and other first responders in the audience.
They noted similar broadcasts had taken place in the past “without any extraordinary events or political discourse” and attacked news media that were critical of the invitation.
“We can only regret the biased presentation and distortion of facts, which makes cynical use of an expression of gratitude and appreciation for security and rescue forces,” the police said in their initial response.
The officers’ participation made headlines around the same time the High Court of Justice ordered police to update judges on whether they would pursue an investigation into over a dozen Channel 14 pundits suspected of incitement and sedition.
That ruling was issued Monday in response to a petition by the Movement for Fair Regulation, which accused police of failing to act on a complaint it filed over a year ago against 18 personalities from the right-wing channel. The complaint cites a series of instances in which the channel’s pundits threatened judges or called for a military coup against Israeli institutions.
The petition characterized the pundits’ alleged speech offenses as a “pure poison capsule” meant to undermine the legitimacy of the High Court, thus constituting “a real danger to the democratic system practiced in the country.”
In 2025, the Second Authority for Television and Radio, which oversees commercial broadcasting in Israel, initiated a disciplinary procedure against Channel 14 when Magal — after a deadly Iranian missile struck Tamra — remarked that most residents of the Arab city are “against Israel.”
Despite its history of controversy, Channel 14 has grown in popularity over the last five years and is now the second most-watched channel in Israel, after Channel 12.
Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.
Source:
www.timesofisrael.com
