The Kan public broadcaster's ethics committee has concluded controversial social media posts by the host of one of its TV programs do not necessitate his termination.
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Rami Younis, the host of the Arabic-language "On the Other Hand" program, posted the content prior to his employment with Kan, the public broadcaster noted in its decision.
Among the evidence evaluated by the ethics committee was a Facebook post from 2018, prior to his employment with Kan, in which Younis share a cartoon in support of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement.
Following the death of Palestinian on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip that same year, Younis referred to Israeli soldiers as "Nazis" online.
During rioting that took place during the Israel Defense Forces' Operation Guardian of the Walls in May, Younis expressed support for Palestinian youths and said they should rebel "until they get their freedom and dignity back."
Right-wing nongovernmental organization Im Tirzu responded to the reports by issuing over 1,000 calls for clarification from the public broadcaster.
"In accordance with Article 45 o the public broadcaster's code of ethics, we make it clear that 'activity through accounts, profiles, or personal pages on social networks allows space for expression that is based at least in part on our reputation as public broadcaster employees. We will operate on the [social media] networks out of recognition of our identification and branding as public broadcaster employees, and we will take care to maintain public trust and the culture of dialogue," the committee wrote in its decision.
"The code of ethics is binding for all public broadcaster employees, including production companies. Therefore, the ethics committee does not deal with the conduct of journalists prior to their joining the public broadcaster," committee members concluded.
Younis began hosting the Arabic-language version of "On the Other Hand," which airs every evening on the Kan TV channel, this month.
Before getting his start in the field of communications, Younis served as a Knesset advisor to controversial former Balad MK Haneen Zoabi and was involved in politics.
Zoabi sparked outrage with comments in support of Hamas, labeling IDF soldiers as "murderers," and other similar rhetoric.
She participated in the 2010 naval convoy that attempted to break Israel's security blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Ten activists were killed in violence aboard the Mavi Marmara ship when they attacked Israeli naval commandos who boarded the vessel.
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