Channel 14 host Shimon Riklin went on air Tuesday attacking Israel’s military censor and claiming its enforcement is politically motivated. During his show “Riklin & Co.,” the host exposed what he calls “selective enforcement” by the body responsible for information security, claiming that while Channel 14 operates under a microscope, left-wing channels enjoy complete immunity even when they publish sensitive materials that harm the state.
Documentation of detention facility | Photo courtesy: N12“The censorship behind the scenes in recent days is an amazing thing,” Riklin opened. “There’s some panelist on Channel 12 who created a movement to monitor Channel 14 and hunt for censorship violations. It’s all collaboration there. You can’t do the same thing to Channel 12, because as far as they’re concerned, Channel 12 has never violated censorship. Channel 12 can publish whatever it wants, including a video from Sde Teiman that will harm the state and the IDF like they haven’t been harmed in decades.”
Riklin continued his attack: “Ronen Bergman can publish whatever he wants. Have you heard anything about the censor saying something to Ronen Bergman? No. There was also someone who a day before the pagers said Israel would take ‘reckless steps in the north’ that could escalate to war. Did you hear anyone talk about that?”
According to the host, the censor’s priorities are fundamentally distorted: “They don’t comment on them even though they’re violating state security. It’s not state security that interests them, but the security of the clique. I admit I’m trying to challenge what’s allowed to be said based on what’s already been published. Things that haven’t been published I don’t say. But think about what Yamit Yanai said here compared to what Ilana Dayan said about the drugs—it’s simply inconceivable, and still everyone comes with complaints only to me, ‘you and you and you.'”
Riklin concluded by summing up his feelings about how the system treats his channel: “So when you talk about censorship, it’s bullshit, it’s politics, it’s not censorship. It’s all a matter of political affiliation and not protecting military secrets.
While we’re required to meet strict standards, others can leak strategic information and endanger state security without anyone raising an eyebrow or turning to them with demands for explanations.”