Israeli Channel 12 has suspended its “Meet the Press” anchor Rina Matsliah for a week, following her comments on Saturday about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud voters, the Times of Israel reports.
Marsliah came under fire after attributing a claim to one of Netanyahu’s supporters in which he or she allegedly said: “even if he raped my daughter I would still vote for him”.
The comment caused a stir among Likud politicians, with the prime minister arguing on Twitter that the journalist’s “hatred of Likud voters” and him in particular “has reached new lows”, while calling Matsliah a “disgrace”.
Other Likud politicians also had strong remarks for the veteran anchor, with Transport Minister Miri Regev saying that Matsliah “raped the honor of a million Likud voters”, according to the Times of Israel.
“You keep striking at the right-wing camp and prime minister in a terrible and despicable manner and this evening all lines have been crossed”, the minister wrote on Twitter.
According to the media, the journalist apologised for her remarks at the end of the show, as she admitted that the example she used “was not very good”. However, this did not prevent her suspension following a meeting with the network’s CEO Avi Weiss. The channel has since distanced itself from Marsliah’s remarks.