Nahum Barne'a, one of Israel's most respected veteran journalists, admitted Sunday that he erred when he falsely quoted MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) as telling justice ministry officials she intends to become justice minister so that she can “destroy” them.
Writing in Yediot Aharonot, Barne'a published a rare apology, admitting that the statement he ascribed to Shaked in his Friday column was not uttered by her.
"The sentence 'I will be justice minister. I will come to you to destroy you' which was ascribed in the Shabbat Supplement column to Ayelet Shaked of the Jewish Home, was not said by her,” wrote Barne'a. “It was said by a different [female] MK, and not exactly in those words. A source in the justice ministry misled me. I apologize to Ayelet Shaked and to the readers for the mistake.”
Barne'a added that the statement could perhaps have been made in jest by the unnamed MK – apparently Likud's Miri Regev – because “she does tend to that sort of humor. And maybe not.”
MK Shaked attacked Barne'a – an Israel Prize winner – on Facebook after the publication of the false report. “You are a respectable journalist, so if you did not have time to check the facts, why write? Would you do the same to Zehava Galon? And no, I never said such a thing, in case it even matters to you. But it doesn't – the important thing is to portray the right wing as dangerous and violent.”
Writing in the political blog “Plog,” journalist Tal Shneider said that MK Regev told her that she had conducted a meeting with a small group of senior justice ministry officials, in an attempt to hammer out a compromise version of the Infiltrators' Law. When she realized that they would not cooperate with her on the matter, and that even MK David Tzur (Hatnua) would not side with her, against the wishes of Hatnua chairperson, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, she said:
"I was never interested in the position of justice minister; I would like to become justice minister just one time, in order to show you just how disconnected all of your justice systems have become from the people. How much you misunderstand the Israeli public.”