Arad Nir
Arad NirMiriam Alster/Flash90

The CEO of Channel 12 News on Saturday night reprimanded journalist Arad Nir for remarks that aired on his program and summoned him for clarifications.

Nir presented on his show the results of a Channel 12 News election poll and then said, "Netanyahu legitimized the Israeli extreme right-winger Itamar Ben Gvir and put him together with Bezalel Smotrich, who wants the State of Israel to be governed according to Torah law, in a party whose very name causes discomfort, Otzma Yehudit."

Channel 12 News renounced the comments and said, "We encourage a plurality of opinions, but we will not agree to personal positions leaking into news reports."

Journalist Amit Segal, a colleague of Nir’s from Channel 12 News, tweeted in response, "I strongly protest against Arad Nir's words this evening. This blatant propaganda in favor of one side shames the News Company."

Nir has come under fire in the past. In 2017, he recommended to his followers on Twitter that they follow anti-Israel political cartoonist Carlos Latuff.

Nir described Latuff’s caricatures as "sharp" and pointed out that Latuff, "as usual, does not spare anyone." But for some reason he ignored the antisemitic tone in Latuff’s caricatures and the fact that he often compares between Israel and the Nazis in his caricatures.

Latuff won the annual Iran holocaust denial contest in 2006 due to the anti-Israel character of his drawings.

Last year, Nir apologized after expressing doubt following then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise that a COVID vaccine would be available by January, 2021.

"In September, I did not believe that we would see an effective, safe mass vaccination program by January. As promised, and without making any excuses, I apologize to those who believed it would happen and vowed [to get it done]!" he wrote.