The Strauss company, one of the largest food manufacturers in Israel, announced on Monday that it would stop advertising on Channel 14, following the uproar in the wake of the broadcast on Sunday in which attorney and media personality Ari Shamai called for Yigal Amir, who murdered Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, to be released from prison.
Strauss said that it made its decision following "various offensive statements, repeated over and over again recently on the channel".
Channel 14, which promptly announced on Sunday night that Shamai will no longer appear on its programs, responded to Strauss’ decision and said, "Strauss' decision to stop advertising is an embarrassing expression of arrogance and an attempt to re-educate the hundreds of thousands of viewers of Channel 14. It would be better if Strauss were to focus on the nature and quality of its products, instead of trying to educate the public."
Presenter Yinon Magal, who was the host of the program on which the incident occurred, tweeted, “Strauss has declared war against Channel 14. The ultra-leftist billionaire Ofra Strauss, who enjoys the money of the people of Israel, has announced that she will stop advertising on Channel 14 following Ari Shamai's statement last night, even though Shamai has been removed from the channel."
"This is a political war. They want to strangle the channel. And shut you up. Do with it what you understand, but I will stop buying their products. And I don’t care about Ofra's billions."
Shimon Riklin, another host on Channel 14, also responded and wrote, "The Strauss company has now sent a letter to Channel 14 that it is stopping advertising on the channel. The reason: Channel 14 does not meet the ethics requirements under which the Strauss company operates.”
"This announcement is a continuation of the boycott by large companies of the majority of the Israeli public. Since such behavior does not meet my ethical requirements, I will stop purchasing Strauss products. Let them learn that the boycott works in both directions."