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Haim Yavin, "Mr. TV", has been delivering the news on Channel 1 for the last 37 years.
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| By Associated Press May 31, 2005 |
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The documentary comes at a tense time in Israel, with settlers are waging a campaign to prevent the planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza and four West Bank settlements this summer.
The documentary was filmed by Haim Yavin, longtime news anchor of Israel TV's state-owned Channel One. Yavin, who earned the nickname "Mr. TV" after delivering the main evening news for 37 years, portrays settlers in an often negative light and blames Israeli society for letting the Palestinians suffer under "occupation".
The five-part documentary, which begins airing Tuesday, criticizes not only settlers, but also Israeli society for letting settlers set the agenda after Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war.
"We have to go through a mental revolution," Yavin said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "The Palestinians are a people and we have to share this land... We have to wake up from our dream."
The documentary will be aired on the privately owned Channel Two. Channel One refused to air the footage although Yavin said the decision was not motivated by politics.
Settlers were to hold a protest vigil Tuesday outside the Channel One offices.
The Yesha Council, an umbrella group of Jewish settlements, wrote to Israel's Broadcasting Authority, demanding Yavin's dismissal. The authority oversees Channel One.
"In the documentary, the picture given is of one-sided coverage that foments controversy, stereotyping the settler community and portraying them in a negative light," wrote settler leader Bentzi Lieberman. "It is unacceptable that Haim Yavin will continue to anchor the news of the national station that professes to be objective."
Yavin insisted that his professional integrity has not been harmed by the documentary.
However, he also said Israelis have grown too accustomed to the role of "occupier," especially since the latest round of fighting broke out with the Palestinians in 2000.
Yavin's film is the harshest portrayal of the settlers that most Israelis have ever seen, said social commentator Tom Segev. He said Yavin's documentary could sway opinion in Israel.
"He is Mr. Israel, the voice of Israel, the soul of Israel and if he comes out with this it means that apparently a lot of people feel the same," Segev said. "But I'm not sure how people will react."
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