The Kan public broadcaster has come under fire after one of its television programs seemed to draw a comparison between Israeli Chief Sephardi Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
In a segment on the "Our Guests Tonight" talk show, the host showed a panel of children a series of pictures of public figures and asked them to decide whether or not they were Iranian.
The children were first shown a picture of Rouhani, and correctly identified him as Iranian. Immediately afterward, they were shown a picture of Yosef. One of the children thought the two were the same person, while another said, "He is also Iranian," pointing out Yosef's glasses, beard and turban.
The segment went largely unnoticed until journalist Amir Ivgi posted it to his Twitter account on Sunday and blasted Kan for comparing the prominent rabbi to the president of a country that openly calls for Israel's destruction.
A lawmaker from Shas, the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party, issued a statement to Israel Hayom saying, "This is nothing short of filth. This is the culture of today, to laugh at everything Israel holds sacred, first the tefillin, and now comparing the chief rabbi to an Iranian."
"People have lost their minds," he said. "They don't respect the most basic things, anything for ratings, and the worst part is that it is paid for with our money. Why do we [the ultra-Orthodox], who don't have televisions for precisely these reasons, have to fund this dreadfulness? Instead of this money going to sick and needy children, hundreds of millions [of shekels] are diverted toward filth and division. Shame."
Shas MK Michael Malchieli called the comparison between Yosef and an enemy of Israel "outrageous."
"I would have expected more from the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation," he said.
Haredi news site Kikar HaShabbat also blasted the segment, calling it "a scandal for public broadcasting."
The controversy comes just days after Israeli satirical show "Eretz Nehederet" was rebuked for what many saw as a skit mocking the religious public. The sketch involved an impersonation of Education Minister Naftali Bennett with two tefillin boxes (phylacteries) on his head, mimicking the signature hairstyle of recent Eurovision song contest winner Netta Barzilai.
Unlike "Our Guests Tonight," "Eretz Nehederet" appears on the commercial channel Keshet 12.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation declined to comment.
