Channel 14 targets Haddad-But its own archive tells another story

Israel's Channel 14 aired an exposé on Monday against Israeli advocacy activist and Amcha Yisrael Knesset candidate Yoseph Haddad, claiming that before the October 7th Massacre, he promoted an Israeli NGO which helped children, including many from the Gaza Strip, to reach hospitals in Israel. In the exposé, journalist Yishai Friedman claimed that Haddad's work for the organization does not align with his current political party's positions. "These activities do not align with the concept of voluntary emigration," he stated. However, the exposé failed to mention that the clip it showed was not an endorsement or promotion by Haddad, but rather a news segment he prepared while working at the time for i24NEWS English. The segment focused on Save a Child's Heart, an Israeli humanitarian organization working to save children with cardiac diseases around the world. The segment's goal was to present the organization to promote Israeli advocacy. "I did not promote the organization, and I did not receive a shekel from it; I promoted Israel," Haddad clarified in a response to the exposé. In response to the exposé, Haddad posted two screenshots that put the criticism against him in a different light. One of the screenshots showed a post by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had shared a photo from a meeting with Save a Child's Heart organization doctors and volunteers along with warm words of praise. In the second screenshot, Haddad presented a favorable article previously published by Channel 14 itself about the organization’s activities. Haddad sharply criticized the channel and claimed that the report was an attempt to harm him politically. “On Channel 14’s news broadcast this evening, they aired yet another report as part of the political campaign against me, and presented a false and distorted account claiming that before October 7 I promoted an organization that helps children from enemy countries and Gaza receive treatment in Israeli hospitals. So once again I’m pro-Palestinian and an enemy of the people, right?" he wrote. Referring to Netanyahu’s post, he added: “So maybe what is allowed for Bibi is forbidden for Yoseph Haddad, such as having spoken in the past about a Palestinian state, but one thing is certain: the public is smarter than to fall for the false spins against me."