Channel 2 News anchorwoman Yonit Levi granted a rare interview to veteran journalist Charlie Rose, who broadcasts an interview program on the US Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) channel. In answer to a question from Rose, Levi said that Israel was undoubtedly being unfairly portrayed in the global media. She said that there was a difference between friends like the US saying what should be done and people who attack Israel because they do not understand the story, or all of the story. She said Israelis felt they were not getting a fair deal.
In a large part of the interview, which took place before the current wave of terrorism, but was only broadcast yesterday, Rose asked questions about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the deal with Iran. Levi said that for Israel, Iran was not a remote country; it was something of every day concern. She said it was very difficult to persuade Israel that Iran was now the new good boy in the neighborhood, pointing out that most Israelis, including the opposition, thought it was a bad deal, while noting that some thought it was good.
Asked whether the agreement with Iran was a loss for Netanyahu, Levi answered that the way he had sold it to the Israeli public was by saying, "I tried my best to fight it, and I'll go on fighting it." She said that Netanyahu had showed the Israeli public that he was taking a risk, and had lost, but as of now had not paid an internal political price.
When asked by Rose whether Netanyahu would win the elections again, she answered that it depended on when the elections take place. She added that Netanyahu's victory had been a surprise when considering the polls, which predicted a smaller victory, while some had even forecast a victory by opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union).
According to Levi, Netanyahu won the elections first and foremost because of security reasons and personal security. She said that this was very important for Israelis, and that almost a million Israelis had felt that he was the right man to keep Israel safe, and that Israel had been safe during his six years as prime minister, although that was debatable.
Levi described the situation during Operation Protective Edge, saying that Israel had been under attack, while the entire world saw only the war in Gaza. She said that Israel's narrative was that we had left Gaza 10 years ago, and removed Jewish communities from it, and asked what people expected of Israel, and said that Israelis could not understand why the rest of world thought that Israel was doing something wrong.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 18, 2015
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