"Impudent people": The stormy conflict tearing apart the journalists of Kan 11

A war inside the armored personnel carrier of the broadcasting corporation: a public and unusual conflict erupted on the X network between Kan Reshet Bet host Kalman Liebskind and Dov Gil-Har, Kan News correspondent in Europe, following a column published by Liebskind against Israelis who left the country and intend to arrive in Israel specifically to participate in the upcoming elections.

The storm began after Liebskind published a column in Makor Rishon under the headline "Expatriates who intend to arrive in Israel to vote in the elections are impudent people." In the column, he argued that anyone who does not reside in Israel and does not bear the burden of life in the country should not arrive specifically from abroad to influence the election results.

Liebskind also shared the column on the X network:

"Expatriates who intend to arrive in Israel to vote in the elections are impudent people. The initiative to fly expatriates to the country ahead of election day is an immoral project. Whoever does not live here, should not decide for us how we live here. Whoever does not bear the burden of life here, and will not pay the price of his decisions at the ballot box, should not interfere."

However, the criticism this time came from within the house. Dov Gil-Har, the corporation's correspondent in Europe, responded directly to Liebskind with a personal jab:

"Pshh... you stirred up the public. How am I, Kalman? Do you allow me to come and vote? My daughter serves in the army, and I have been working for your employer in Europe for four years, a little before the accident that happened to us. It feels to me that I must hurry to vote to save the country. What is your position regarding me? Maybe I will take it into account."

Liebskind did not remain in debt, and in a response published later, he clarified that from his perspective, there is a fundamental difference between Israelis who chose to leave the country and a person who is abroad due to his work:

"Dubi, my dear, it is recommended to read the column first and only then respond to it. I am not talking about Israelis who took off for two years of work abroad, but about those who left Israel and decided that their birthplace is less preferable to them than another country."

Liebskind added that in his view, "those who took a break from the routine and will return even before the next reserve duty call-up" are not the group he was targeting in the column. By doing so, he effectively rejected the comparison made by Gil-Har between his work as the corporation's envoy in Europe and the Israelis the article dealt with.

The conflict sparked further reactions on the network. Journalist Yair Kraus responded to Liebskind and wrote: "Responding to a text you didn't read is truly rare professionalism." Other users joined the debate, which quickly crossed the boundaries of the original discussion about the voting of Israelis living abroad and turned into a public clash between two journalists working in the same broadcasting body.

The irony is particularly prominent in light of the roles of the two: Liebskind hosts "Kalman Liberman" on Kan Reshet Bet, while Gil-Har serves as Kan News envoy in Europe.