Right-wing channel axes reporter who lamented lack of Arab Israeli casualties

Kobi Finkler says days of reporting without sleep led him to say ‘unfortunately it did not lead to many deaths’ after rockets from Lebanon hit empty soccer field in northern town

By ToI Staff 20 May 2021, 11:21 pm Edit

Channel 20 correspondent Kobi Finkler during a May 19, 2021 broadcast. (Screen capture/YouTube)

The right-wing Channel 20 fired a reporter on Thursday hours after he lamented on air the lack of casualties in a rocket attack from Lebanon that struck a northern Arab Israeli town.

“Unfortunately it did not lead to a lot of deaths,” Kobi Finkler said of the Wednesday attack that hit an empty soccer field in Shfar’am.

The comments sparked immediate uproar, with several left-wing MKs calling for Finkler’s dismissal.

The military correspondent later apologized, but said it was a “mistake” caused by lack of sleep after several consecutive days of reporting.

“Of course my intention was not that there was delight [due to the lack of casualties],” he tweeted. “It is unfortunate that many are happily using the mistake to attack the network.”

Channel 20 issued an initial statement Wednesday evening condemning the remark while standing by Finkler. However, on Thursday morning, it changed course, saying it had decided to part ways with the correspondent after learning that he had made similar comments more than once.