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Black eyes
No winners when Israel's latest scandal is over.
LARRY DERFNER ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT
Tel Aviv
These are anxious, edgy days for Israeli journalists. The Netanyahu government could well fall if the "Bar-On for Hebron" story turns out true, or the state-run TV station that broke the story could well be ruined if the story turns out false.
Beyond killing the credibility, if not the existence, of Israel Television's Channel One, the disproving of the story would devastate all of the country's news media, which are already distrusted if not despised by the government and much of the
public. _
This is one of the n^^i^^" biggest tests the f" news media in this country has ever faced," says Razi Guttcrman, head of the National Federation of Israeli Journalists.
Channel One, until this decade the only television station in Israel, is taking an enormous gamble. Ayala Has-son, a 34-year-old, relatively inexperienced crime reporter on a nightly news show, has told a story of high-level corruption without naming a single source or presenting any shred of evidence. . .
Ms. Hasson's superiors — news editor Rafik Halaby, station manager Yair Stem and Israel Broadcasting Authority chief Mordechai Kirschenbaum—say they have all gone over her information and concluded that the report is imassailable.
Mr. Halaby—like Mr. Stem, a veteran TV journalist — says that before giving his go-ahead to broadcast the story, he confirmed it himself through additional sources.
But for some joumalists, there are considerable problems with what has been presented so far. Because the station says it promised its sources confidentiality, it cannot back the story up on the air. Furthermore, it has been reported that Ms. Hasson came upon her information the same day she broadcast the story, and that it was aired that same night for fear the competition, Chaimel Two, also had the
I "IWish!could
reveal my I sources; a lot of [ mouths would \   drop open,^
1 -Ayala Hasson, crime leportef
story and was preparing to go with it. A day seems a terribly short time to investigate a story so complex, so accusatory and so important, especially when it cannot be substantiated on the air.
In addition, it wasn't vmtil two days after she broke the story that Ms. Hasson reported that Mr. Netanyahu did not know about the alleged deal whereby Mr. Bar-On would let Shas Knesset Member Aiye Deri ofTeasy on his corruption trial.
Asked if he thought Channel One was right to run the story without any on-the-air proof, Shalom Roscnfeld, retired editor of the daily Moonu ; and elder statesman of Israeli journalism, said: "It's their duty to run the story provided that the editor and station manager have checked the information and are satisfied that it ■ is correct, and, of course, that they have cleared the
—-, story with their le-
gal advisor." As it happened, though, the story had not been shown to the show's legal advisor before broad- . cast. ,    . . ■  :: •
Finally, Israel's major news-, papers and radio stations, not to mention Channel ,Two, have thrown dozens upon dozens of reporters at this story, including their best investigators. Yet, virtually no new information has been flushed out.
"I wish I could reveal my sources; a lot of mouths would drop open," Ms. Hasson said.
However, Israeli district court judges can order journalists to reveal their sources if there is no , other way to get to the tmth of a case, and it appeared that police would soon be going to court to get the names out of Ms. Hasson.
Meanwhile, the charge that the Israeli media is unswervingly leftist, and will print or broadcast any fabrication to hurt a right-wing/religious govcrrmicnt, is continually made by the Israeli. right. If the story collapses, the charge would be immeasurably strengthened, and every media criticism of the current government would be hobbled. □