Israeli network Channel 13 suspends Eyal Berkovic over anti-Arab remarks

Israel's Channel 13 said Sunday that it had suspended television commentator and former international soccer star Eyal Berkovic indefinitely, a day after he questioned and mocked the academic credentials of US senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed and Joint List lawmaker Ahmad Tibi on air, though both men are medical doctors.

The exchange unfolded during a Saturday news program, when Berkovic and his co-host, Moriah Asraf, asked reporter Suleiman Maswadeh to profile Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan's new senator-elect, described on the segment as anti-Israel. When Maswadeh noted that El-Sayed holds a medical degree from Columbia University, Berkovic interjected: "Everyone is now given the 'doctor' honorific; did you check if he's a doctor?"

As Maswadeh began to explain that El-Sayed is a certified physician, Berkovic went on: "They also say about Ahmad Tibi that he's a doctor. So what if they say? He should show the certificate. Now everyone's a doctor." Maswadeh replied that the veteran Arab Israeli lawmaker is indeed a medical doctor and a trained gynecologist who graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Berkovic then turned mockingly to Asraf, asking: "Moriah is also a doctor. What kind of a doctor are you?" Asraf played along throughout.

In a statement, Channel 13 said that while "freedom of expression and diversity of opinion are among the foundations of a free press," they "don't legitimize racist remarks," and that the words aired on the program "Moriah and Berko" were unacceptable and did not match the company's values. It said a clarification meeting with Berkovic ended with a decision to suspend him from broadcasting with immediate effect. The network did not specify how long the suspension would last, and did not say whether Asraf would be reprimanded.

The suspension comes amid an uptick in anti-Arab commentary on Israeli television since last month's Knesset elections, in which Arab-led parties won a record 19 seats amid unprecedented turnout in Israel's minority community. The result brought allegations of fraud and foreign interference from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has contested the outcome, calling the election "stolen by Arab parties" and branding them "supporters of terror."

Openly anti-Arab rhetoric has largely been confined to Channel 14, a right-wing channel loyal to Netanyahu, but mainstream outlets have recently been forced to act over on-air remarks widely perceived as racist.

Berkovic's suspension also came days after he was widely criticized for telling fellow anchor Lucy Aharish, an Arab Israeli, on air: "Calm down, you're not in the village here." Aharish, the target of a lengthy harassment campaign by right-wing activists earlier this year, demanded an apology and has since refused to appear on the channel. Berkovic conceded the remark was "incorrect" but denied it was racist, saying his accusers have "gone too far."

Public broadcaster Kan is meanwhile locked in its own dispute with longtime anchor Ayala Hasson over podcast remarks last week widely condemned as racist toward Israel's Bedouin community. Hasson apologized on social media, but said Kan then issued "an ultimatum" that she read an on-air apology she called "designed to humiliate me," and she published screengrabs of her WhatsApp exchange with news director Lior Landenberg. She said she would not return to broadcasting for now. Kan said the sides had "exchanged written drafts" and that Hasson announced her own departure, adding that it stands by Landenberg, who has faced threats since.

At Channel 12, journalist Barak Ravid made headlines last week by denouncing, live on air, a Likud spokesman's description of Arab party voters as "Nukhba supporters," a reference to Hamas's elite force. "Twenty percent of Israeli citizens are Arabs," Ravid said. "They have the right to influence Israeli politics, and not all of these 20% are Nukhba supporters." He called the characterization "simply disgusting" and "a lie." After fellow commentator Almog Boker pushed back, the segment was cut short. Channel 12 has not commented.