Live on Channel 13: Moriya Asarf breaks the rules of the game again — “Unbearable”
The political correspondent revealed the true identity of a frequently quoted anonymous source on air, two years after another journalist refused to participate in the same “game.”
Will a storm rise again this time? During the broadcast of the current-affairs program “Moriya and Berko” at the end of the week, political correspondent and presenter Moriya Asarf decided to address the briefings given to journalists accompanying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his visit to Washington. During the studio discussion, she clarified that the identity of the anonymous figure widely quoted in the media as a “senior political official” is none other than the Prime Minister himself.
This move comes about two years after a similar incident that stirred the media landscape, when News Company journalist Yiron Avraham publicly spoke out against the accepted norm. At the time, Avraham stated: “I refuse to cooperate with this game.”
In her remarks on air, Asarf addressed the practice in question, clarifying that it is neither a new nor a unique phenomenon for the current period. “He didn’t invent it,” Asarf said. “This has been an unbearable practice of prime ministers for years.”
According to the political correspondent, exploiting this pattern of behavior grants leaders too much freedom of maneuver regarding their public statements. Asarf explained the mechanism behind these reports, noting: “Through this practice, they can say things they may not want attributed to them directly. It leaves them the ability to deny or avoid standing behind certain statements.”
