Israel’s Television Service Runs into Controversy over Question of Personal Opinion

Israel’s infant television services is already experiencing some of the troubles that beset its much older counterpart in the United States. They involve the question of where to draw the line between public service and personal opinion.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority, a quasi-government body, was expected to exercise stricter supervision over what is broadcast following an alleged breach of the rules laid down for TV performers. The incident involved a popular stage and TV personality, Dan Ben Amotz, who runs a highly personalized interview show on Israel’s only TV channel. Ben Amotz recently made an unsuccessful bid for a Knesset seat on the “Peace List,” a small faction that advocates Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories. On a recent show, he criticized Defense Ministry policies in the occupied territories, especially the policies of punishing suspected terrorist collaborators. Mr. Ben Amotz also interviewed a local rabbi on the controversial subject of Sabbath TV.

The Broadcasting Authority claims that he violated the rules on two counts–first that an interviewer should keep his personal opinions off the air, and second, that a subject such as Sabbath TV which is under judicial consideration, should not be discussed, especially as it involves the Broadcasting Authority itself.

In another development, the Foreign Ministry asked the Broadcasting Authority to clear interviews with Israeli Ambassadors abroad with the ministry before they even approach the envoy to appear. The Authority promptly agreed. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said in reply to questions that the ambassadors have not been ordered to clear their TV appearances in advance with the ministry. The Israeli envoy most frequently seen and heard on Israeli radio and TV is Gen.Yitzhak Rabin, the Ambassador to the United States.