Historian and publicist Dr. Gadi Taub, who regularly published articles in Haaretz, was fired from the newspaper due to articles that "give impetus to a regime coup", according to the newspaper's editors.
"Breaking: Haaretz canceled my column," wrote Dr. Taub on his Twitter account. "The official reasons: 1. Democracy is being defended and there is no room for articles in favor of reform. 2. I am President Orban's agent. The real reason: the truth must not be told."
An email sent to Taub from the newspaper's management stated: "I am forced to write you this email after many years of working together. Along with the difficulty of publishing your articles, which did not please many of our readers, I thought them an important contribution to freedom of expression and the possibility of being exposed to other and different positions."
"Nonetheless, two things happened recently and they change the newspaper's position regarding your articles. One is the recent change of government, which was accompanied by an aggressive and immediate attack on Israeli democracy, as we in the country perceive it."
"The desire to weaken the justice system with the help of extreme unilaterally determined and unrestrained moves forces us, as a media outlet, to defend ourselves against what is perceived by us as a regime coup," it says. "In this sense, we find it very difficult to reconcile the dissonance: on the one hand, to be at the forefront against this coup, and at the same time to publish articles that give impetus to that coup. In terms of a defensive democracy, we believe that now is a time of defensiveness."
Diaspora Minister Amichai Shikli attacked Taub's dismissal and the motives they presented in the newspaper: "The right-wing won the elections and, mercifully, is implementing its declared policy - in response Haaretz decides not to allow Dr. Gadi Taub, one of the few conservative writers in the newspaper, to publish his articles. A weak and unfortunate decision, Tell us more about how much the left believes in liberal values, freedom of thought, and freedom of expression - Schocken, you're a joke.'' Amos Schocken is publisher of Haaretz.