Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is facing criticism in the Chareidi community after giving an extensive prerecorded interview to i24NEWS that the network plans to broadcast on Friday night, during Shabbos.
Although the interview itself was recorded in advance and Netanyahu did not participate in any broadcast on Shabbos, critics contend that the prime minister knowingly provided exclusive material intended to serve as a centerpiece of a program airing during Shabbos.
The interview, conducted by i24NEWS journalist Neve Dromi, is scheduled to air on the network’s “Friday Cabinet” program.
According to i24NEWS’s published schedule, the program airs on Friday evenings from 7:53 p.m. until 10 p.m. The network describes the show with the phrase, “Neve Dromi welcomes Shabbat,” and promotional material for recent broadcasts has similarly referred to “opening Shabbat with Neve Dromi and ‘Friday Cabinet.’”
The decision has drawn particular attention because Netanyahu has generally avoided directly associating himself with interviews specifically produced for Shabbos broadcasts during his many years in public life. Emess reported that it was unable to find a similar precedent involving Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has also spoken publicly in the past about the significance of Shabbos. During an American interview, he once described it as “our day off” and discussed his family’s practice of studying Tanach together on Shabbos.
Critics argued that those circumstances make the latest interview especially troubling. The interview was planned, recorded and edited in advance and was specifically intended as major content for a Friday-night program, rather than footage from an urgent breaking-news event being aired by a network because of immediate public importance.
The interview itself contains several significant statements concerning Israel’s wars against Hamas and Iran.
In excerpts released by i24NEWS ahead of the full broadcast, Netanyahu said that Israel “has complete control over more than 60% of the Gaza Strip.”
Netanyahu also made a striking declaration regarding the Iranian regime.
“We will defeat this regime. It will fall; we will bring it down,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister said that Israel’s various systems are operating under his direction against the Iranian regime and indicated that the campaign remains unfinished.
“We have not yet completed the job,” Netanyahu said.
While Netanyahu’s comments on Gaza and Iran are expected to generate attention in their own right, the planned timing of the broadcast has become a source of controversy within the Chareidi community.
Critics noted that Netanyahu has repeatedly sought the political support of the Chareidi parties and the broader Torah-observant public, arguing that a prime minister who seeks that community’s backing should recognize the sensitivity surrounding Shabbos and avoid deliberately providing exclusive content for a program scheduled to air during the holy day.
