Channel 14 cameraman delayed by PM’s security, claims move deliberate

Nati Langermann, the diplomatic correspondent for Channel 14, on Wednesday accused the Prime Minister’s Office of singling out the right-wing channel and deliberately preventing one of its cameramen from entering the PMO.

Ahead of a press conference Wednesday evening at the PMO in Jerusalem on the maritime deal with Lebanon, reporters from Israel’s various news outlets made their way to the building on Kaplan Street.

But unlike most reporters and their teams, a cameraman with Channel 14 was not at the press conference, leading Langermann to decry what he suggested was deliberate discrimination against the channel.

“I would like to inform our viewers about the reason why we’re not there inside,” said Langermann in a live broadcast outside of the PMO.

“It’s because [PMO] employees chose to delay our cameraman for unknown reasons for two hours,” he claimed. “A delivery of hamburgers got in before they were done checking his equipment.

“It is very unfortunate and also concerning and raises many questions,” Langermann said.

ההתנכלות נמשכת: מדוע לא הוכנס צוות חדשות 14 להצהרת לפיד-גנץ? כתבנו המדיני @NatiLang32 מדווח מחוץ למשרד ראש הממשלה – שם בחרו לעכב את הצלם מסיבה לא ברורה מחוץ לבניין ולא אפשרו לו להיכנס#המהדורה_המרכזית@MaggieTabibi pic.twitter.com/80rnxLfNyT

— C14 (@Now14Israel) October 12, 2022

Responding to the report, the PMO said the cameraman in question was not cooperative with security protocols and directed abusive language at a security guard on site.

“A cameraman who arrived to cover the press conference held by the prime minister, defense minister and energy minister was vetted according to protocol. During the security check, he was annoyed about the manner and duration of the process, shouted at one of the guards and her shift manager, and decided of his own accord to leave the area and not complete the security check. There is no place for such behavior directed at security personnel just doing their jobs,” a statement issued by the PMO read, adding that the incident would be investigated further.

According to Times of Israel correspondent Tal Schneider, who was at the scene at the time, all of the journalists attending the press conference were subjected to a lengthy security check.

“I spoke outside the building to the Channel 14 crew who are saying they were delayed for checks that prevented them from entering, and I told them it took me a long time to get in and I had to walk back and forth between the security booths. It’s too bad they didn’t wait to be let in,” she tweeted after the incident.

The incident comes amid tensions between Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s party Yesh Atid and Channel 14.

Last month, Yesh Atid filed a petition against the right-wing news channel to the Central Election Committee, claiming that the channel has been actively promoting opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party ahead of the general elections on November 1.

Lapid’s party demanded that the CEC categorize the channel as a political platform working on behalf of the Likud, which would require Channel 14 to notify its viewers that they were watching propagandist material.