Keshet, Israel’s top commercial broadcaster, airs a weekly talk show starring two provocative hosts: sports journalist Ofira Asayag and Eyal Berkovic, a former midfielder on Israel’s national football team and current sports commentator. Their show is devoted to current events, not sports, and the hosts' unrestrained style appears designed to generate public controversy.
On Aug. 17, the show crossed yet another line, forcing the network's bosses to punish the hosts for their flagrantly racist remarks. In her introductory remarks, Asayag noted that Arab Knesset members refuse to come on the show, to which Berkovic responded by calling them “terrorists,” “spies” and “Israel haters,” with Asayag grinning at his side.