The Communications Ministry has concluded following an investigation that anti-Mizrahi comments attributed to Channel 10’s new chairman, Rami Sadan, were not made by him, the Director-General of the Ministry said Tuesday night.
"An investigation by the Second Authority for Television and Radio with state representatives on the board of Channel 10 found that the comments attributed to Rami Sadan in Haaretz were not made by him at the meeting," the Director-General, Shlomo Filber, wrote on Twitter.
Filber attached to the tweet a photo of an excerpt from a letter sent to him on this issue, including a summary of the findings.
Sadan, who is to manage the cash-strapped Channel 10, had reportedly told directorate members, according to the Haaretz report, that "I, like you in the elite, hate the Shas movement and the thief Aryeh Deri."
"But we, as an elite, need to break through the barriers of the channel, to approach the Shas audience, 'Masuda from Sderot,'" he allegedly said, in a proverbial reference to Mizrahi Jews living in the periphery as opposed to Ashkenazi Jews in Tel Aviv.
Sadan later insisted that the statements "were never said, you can check that with those who were present at the meeting, that's it. Those words were simply never said."
The findings of the Communications Ministry came despite earlier confirmation by Channel 10 News CEO Golan Yochpaz that Sadan indeed made the comments in question.
"After a firestorm that’s lasted for hours, it should be stated clearly: Rami Sadan told the members of the board and myself, ‘I hate Shas and Deri just like you in the elites,'" Yochpaz stated in a tweet.
"He added: ‘We must get to Pirhia from Sderot.’ His comments were interrupted. Any other description is a distortion of the truth."
Sadan repeated on Tuesday evening that he never made the remarks in question, stressing his appreciation for the Shas party.
"I'm sorry that since this morning anonymous people are claiming I said things I never said. I’m seriously considering filing a libel suit," he wrote on his personal Facebook page.
"Shas created a revolution in Israel. A revolution that brought prestige of Torah and Halakha and the rich and broad Sephardic heritage,” stated Sadan, who added, "The media should be open to all opinions and all sectors of society with love. We will only benefit from that."