November 29, 1995 P R E S S R E L E A S E
ATTORNEY-GENERAL ORDERS POLICE
ON SUSPECTED CRIMINAL DECEPTION
BY IBA TV CREW
In a letter to Yisrael Medad, Director of Israel's Media Watch, dated Nov.28th, the Attorney-General's Special Assistant, Noam Solberg, informed him that the Police Chief of Investigations Unit was requested to open an investigation into Medad's complaint regarding suspicions that the Israel Broadcasting Authority staged a newsreel item in connection with a "swearing-in ceremony" of the Eyal organization.
The filmed item was first
shown on Channel One TV on September 22nd and again on November
10. Despite denials and assertions that the item was authentic,
four different published reports on Radio "Kol
Yisrael", Ma'ariv, Ha'Aretz and Davar Rishon newspapers all
indicate that the ceremony was indeed staged and was done so with
the connivance of the film crew.
This is an unprecedented move in that a criminal complaint is being reviewed in connection with the state-sponsored television authority.
The complaint is based on the obligation of the IBA, according to the Broadcasting Law Paragraph 4, to broadcast reliable news and Section 284 of the Penal Code which defines as criminal the action of a civil servant if proved deceptive and misleading and as breaking trust.
Israel's Media Watch is a non-partisan advocacy group concerned with the ethical and professional standards of the media in Israel.
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