Danny Kushmaro and the panel accidentally exposed the problem of 'Ulpan Shishi' | Dror Refael
They promised the man who was closest to Netanyahu and we got three interviews with very little new information. And then came the strange moment of 'Ulpan Shishi', where Danny Kushmaro and the panel revealed much more than they intended - mainly about themselves.
Every Israeli should be grateful that the media market is so competitive that the viewer in the multi-channel era could zap yesterday, Friday, and watch on Channel 13 Lior Keinan in an exclusive interview with Yoav Horowitz; or on Kan 11 Gili Cohen in an exclusive interview with the same subject; or Iron Avraham in a rare interview with him on Channel 12. The variety of agendas presented by the channels is more of the same, and now also on the same day and at the same time.
Because when someone comes to open up on Bibi, the studio doors open wide, and the channels give up exclusivity, primacy, originality, and also a sense of criticality. Yoav Horowitz turned yesterday into a kind of beacon lighting ceremony, with all channels (except i24) in a unified broadcast.
The 'Ulpan Shishi' edition last night also presented a gallery of commentators who think almost the same thing about everything always: Danny, Dana, Dafna, Amnon, Yossi, and even Almog. Gofman fires senior officials in the Mossad — it's terrible and inappropriate, the schedule of Defense Minister Israel Katz is delusional and despicable, and then came the crescendo of Kushmaro. The climax. The long-awaited catharsis with a former senior official in the bureau who speaks for the first time.
Yoav Horowitz left his position as CEO and Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister 7 years ago. Since then, he has already been documented at a demonstration against the government and a year ago joined Gadi Eisenkot in the 'Yashar!' party.
Watching an interview with him is like watching a movie we've already seen. He reveals for the first time what we already knew and heard. It is about a person unknown to the Israeli public, and presented as a person who was closest, knew most, understood most, influenced most, and flipped or, as he called it, 'I went through a process'.
The promised interview was boring. Horowitz is not a fascinating personality and his answers are stingy. He almost doesn't speak but only hints, answering with 'yes' or 'no', or 'I don't deny'. And yet.
Horowitz changed camps, from Bibi to 'anyone but Bibi'. And for the sake of the turnaround, he had to present a whitewashing show, a grandiose rehabilitation, which included stories, gossip, trifles, and mainly minor matters — by the way, not uninteresting. Once the Prime Minister, following an urgent phone call, changed his mind regarding the decision on the deportation of infiltrators. In other times, he told about pressure from home (Sara, Yair) regarding the magnetometers, and also that he had to sign a loyalty letter to the family. Although he refused, nothing happened. His stories have no beginning, middle, or end. They are disturbing, it is likely that they are true, but not backed up. Beyond that, Horowitz is in an interested position. He did not show civic courage, conscience, or rare integrity in real-time. He chose to speak at a time that was professionally convenient for him, and that would help his new party politically. If he had testified in court, he would have been called an 'interested witness'.
And most importantly, if there is something worth waiting for an entire evening, it is the segment 'What happens in Ulpan Shishi behind the scenes and on the panel during commercials', or by its other name: 'Why don't we deal with ourselves a little, after all, we are so interesting'. This is probably the most bizarre event in the world of television these days. It is a display of self-importance mixed with ego and lack of editorial judgment. Its purpose, supposedly, is to show that these so important and serious people also have another side, amusing, liberated, and that they do scenes behind the scenes. Well, the segment revealed the bitter truth: they don't have it. No humor. No liberation. And unfortunately, also no self-awareness.
