Panelist Itamar Fleishman apologized this evening (Thursday) live on the "Patriots" program on Channel 14, after receiving a warning letter prior to a lawsuit on behalf of Yair Lapid.
Fleishman made it clear that he does not believe Lapid is a Nazi, and said that the very use of the comparison was wrong. "I don't think Yair Lapid is a Nazi, God forbid," he said.
He later added: "The fact that I even associated him with Nazis, and that is true in my opinion of every Jew, was wrong and I apologize for that.".
He mentioned that "repentance also requires acceptance of the future" - and pledged not to use such comparisons towards Jews again.
Earlier today, Lapid, through his lawyers, sent warning letters before suing Channel 14 owner Yitzhak Mirilashvili and panelists Fleishman and Daniel Cohen.
The letters alleged that on the program "The Patriots," Fleishman called Lapid "an assistant to the Nazis," and that despite partial reservations from one of the participants, the other panel members, including host Yinon Magal, did not object to the statement. It was also alleged that the remarks crossed a "red line," especially given that Lapid is the son of a Holocaust survivor.
In another letter, addressed to Daniel Cohen, it was claimed that he called Lapid a "Judo-Nazi" and refused to retract it even after being asked to do so during the broadcast by the presenter.
According to Lapid, this is an expression that constitutes serious defamation, relying on rulings of the Supreme Court and other courts that have determined that comparing a person to a Nazi or using similar expressions are not protected under the protections of the Defamation Law.
