The investigative piece, a 45-minute-long affair broadcast during prime-time in November 2004, highlighted accusations of corruption and malfunctioning in the Department of Public Works (DPW) - and particularly that of its northern region director, Yitzchak Hershkovitz. A trial was underway at the time against Hershkovitz on charges that he failed to implement necessary safety measures on highways in his jurisdiction, leading to fatal accidents and the deaths of 20 people. Much of the television report's material was taken from the prosecution's case.
After watching the show on Friday night with his family, Hershkovitz turned to his son and said, "They have already decreed my case... Anyone watching this will think I am a serial killer." Several hours later, he put a bullet through his head.
Hershkovitz had tried to prevent Channel Two from broadcasting the show, and filed a request to this effect in the Tel Aviv District Court. However, Justice Sarah Sirota rejected Hershkovitz's request, ruling that the facts of the indictment could be publicized, "as long as no position is taken regarding [his] culpability."
The deceased's widow and children later filed suit against Channel Two and the reporters responsible for the broadcast, and requested to see the materials used by the station in preparing the report. Channel Two refused to comply - but Justice Yael Hoenig has now ruled that the material is in fact necessary for the family's case and must be handed over.
Atty. Yaakov Weinrot, representing the family, said that Channel Two, "which claimed all along that its investigation was carefully prepared and faultless, refuses to reveal those materials that were designed to reveal the truth, hiding behind a blanket claim of 'protecting its sources.'"
Weinrot went so far as to accuse Channel Two of "being well aware that their broadcast was filled with lies and half-truths and was based on parties with ulterior motives."
The lawyer further said that "only after a full 25 minutes [in the broadcast], in which no doubt was left as to who was the 'bad guy,' Hershkovitz received a 'right of response' of only 23 seconds, in which was not brought even a fraction of the prepared response he had provided Channel Two in advance."
The broadcast and subsequent suicide brought about a robust public debate on the role and responsibility of the media. Investigative journalist Yoav Yitzchak told Arutz-7 at the time that it was his impression that the Channel Two reporters prematurely judged Hershkovitz and thus did not follow the court guidelines. He noted with some bitterness that the other media had come too eagerly and blindly to Channel Two's defense.
Veteran investigative journalist Ilana Dayan wrote in Maariv at the time, "A healthy society and effective media require this type of journalistic work. We want to know why accidents happen, why buses roll down a ravine, why warnings are stuck in drawers and turn into serious blunders, and who is responsible. There's no one else to tell us this."
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, Dean of Yeshivat Beit El and Rabbi of Beit El, did not quite agree: "The left has always been telling us that words can kill - so here is the proof... Of course things have to be investigated, but the tone used in the media can make all the difference. Especially in this case; he was already on trial, so what did they have to gain by tormenting him so bitterly?"
After watching the show on Friday night with his family, Hershkovitz turned to his son and said, "They have already decreed my case... Anyone watching this will think I am a serial killer." Several hours later, he put a bullet through his head.
Hershkovitz had tried to prevent Channel Two from broadcasting the show, and filed a request to this effect in the Tel Aviv District Court. However, Justice Sarah Sirota rejected Hershkovitz's request, ruling that the facts of the indictment could be publicized, "as long as no position is taken regarding [his] culpability."
The deceased's widow and children later filed suit against Channel Two and the reporters responsible for the broadcast, and requested to see the materials used by the station in preparing the report. Channel Two refused to comply - but Justice Yael Hoenig has now ruled that the material is in fact necessary for the family's case and must be handed over.
Atty. Yaakov Weinrot, representing the family, said that Channel Two, "which claimed all along that its investigation was carefully prepared and faultless, refuses to reveal those materials that were designed to reveal the truth, hiding behind a blanket claim of 'protecting its sources.'"
Weinrot went so far as to accuse Channel Two of "being well aware that their broadcast was filled with lies and half-truths and was based on parties with ulterior motives."
The lawyer further said that "only after a full 25 minutes [in the broadcast], in which no doubt was left as to who was the 'bad guy,' Hershkovitz received a 'right of response' of only 23 seconds, in which was not brought even a fraction of the prepared response he had provided Channel Two in advance."
The broadcast and subsequent suicide brought about a robust public debate on the role and responsibility of the media. Investigative journalist Yoav Yitzchak told Arutz-7 at the time that it was his impression that the Channel Two reporters prematurely judged Hershkovitz and thus did not follow the court guidelines. He noted with some bitterness that the other media had come too eagerly and blindly to Channel Two's defense.
Veteran investigative journalist Ilana Dayan wrote in Maariv at the time, "A healthy society and effective media require this type of journalistic work. We want to know why accidents happen, why buses roll down a ravine, why warnings are stuck in drawers and turn into serious blunders, and who is responsible. There's no one else to tell us this."
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, Dean of Yeshivat Beit El and Rabbi of Beit El, did not quite agree: "The left has always been telling us that words can kill - so here is the proof... Of course things have to be investigated, but the tone used in the media can make all the difference. Especially in this case; he was already on trial, so what did they have to gain by tormenting him so bitterly?"