Channel 14 under fire after mocking Herzi Halevi over ripping Messiah patch

Published October 23rd, 2024 - 11:47 GMT
Herzi Halevi
This handout picture released by the Israeli army on August 14, 2024 reportedly shows the Israeli Army Chief of General Staff Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi (R) during a situational assessment at the Philadelphi Corridor in the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip. (Photo by Israeli Army / AFP) / === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / ISRAELI ARMY' / Channel 14

ALBAWABA - Israel's Channel 14 recently stirred controversy after sharing an edited satirical video mocking Chief of the General Staff of Israel Herzi Halevi over ripping off the patch of Messiah on a soldier's shoulder, as reported by The Times of Israel. 

The video in question mocked an interaction between Herzi Halevi and one of his soldiers after the Chief of Staff noticed him wearing an unauthorized velcro band. His face started morphing in weird ways in hopes of getting reactions from Israeli social media users. 

His face morphed in two different scenes with one showing Herzi Halevi screaming in agony after witnessing the badge while the other showed him with enlarged bug-like eyes.

Channel 14 under fire after mocking Herzi Halevi over patch of Messiah

According to Israeli reports, Halevi told the soldier that he could keep it close to his heart but the Israeli army doesn't allow unofficial badges on its military uniforms. Moreover, he later removed the badge and put it in the soldier's pocket.

IOF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that Channel 14 "Crossed a red line" by broadcasting such a video through its channel and social media accounts. He further said that he expects Channel 14 to remove the content in question. 

The video definitely received reactions from Israeli users but was mostly overwhelmingly negative with comments like: 

Herzi Halevi

"Well, I checked several times if it's really you and not an account of an Iranian bot impersonating you". 

"I swear I just checked if this is your official page or Hamas/Hezbollah's social media accounts, I swear". 

"Netanyahu's heritage channel is one of the most anti-Semitic channels I know".

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