Israir has withdrawn its objection to an investigative broadcast by Keshet Broadcasting. The broadcast was part of Keshet’s Uvda (Hebrew for “fact”) series. Israir’s legal representative so notified Keshet chairman Moshe (Mozi) Wertheim and general manager Avi Nir. Israir said that the broadcast of a summary of the program on the last show, and prior promotional broadcasts about it, had made the question of the timing of the full broadcast irrelevant.
Israir added that it was relying on Keshet and the editors of Uvda to stick to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. “Israir expects you to grant it the right to respond, and to broadcast the full response of its board of directors,” Israir’s representative stated.
The broadcast in question deals with a near accident involving an Israir plane six months ago at Kennedy Airport in New York, and the company’s alleged cover-up of the event. Keshet canceled its broadcast last week, after Israir threatened legal action. Israir controlling shareholder Nochi Dankner also personally warned Wertheim of the consequences of the broadcast.
Wertheim and Keshet explained their postponement of the broadcast by saying that they did not wish to influence Minister of Tourism Avraham Hirchson’s decision on Israir’s request for designated carrier status on the New York route. It now appears that the Keshet report will be broadcast on the next Uvda program this Wednesday.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on December 26, 2005