This following Haaretz article gives a more balanced impression of the suppressed report about Rami Davidian.
Israeli Television Pulls Program Debunking Testimony of Key Figure of October 7
An Israeli television channel decided not to air a program that cast doubt on some of the testimony of Rami Davidian, who has been credited with rescuing civilians during Hamas' October 7 attack.
Channel 13 announced on Friday that it was canceling the scheduled broadcast of a report on its "Hamakor" program. "We understand the public's concerns and the effect of airing this episode, so we have decided against broadcasting it at this time," the statement said.
A promo for the report, edited by Itay Rom and supposed to be shown Sunday night, said, "He's considered one of the heroes of October 7. But what out of all this happened?"^
The program's host, Raviv Drucker, responded to the cancelation on X. "Earlier this afternoon, the CEO of Channel 13, Emiliano Calemzuk, called and said he had decided not to run the report on Rami Davidian," Drucker wrote, referring to the alleged rescuer. "This was the first time we had discussed the issue."
"We prepared the report on Rami Davidian – in my opinion – with great sensitivity to every aspect of the story. We were hesitant about this issue. We also discussed all the arguments that have been made in recent days in the one-sided public conversation that has taken place. Why look into someone who rescued people in the first place? Maybe what he went through on October 7 led him to say what he said afterward?"
"In my view, the material that Itay Rom and the "Hamakor" editorial staff gathered is so strong that it's important to broadcast. Of course, what Davidian did do – and he did do things – is also in the article, and all the other issues are also addressed," Drucker wrote.
"The question is very simple. In the current situation, is it permissible to broadcast dozens and hundreds of public appearances by Davidian that include many lies, including false smears against other rescuers of October 7, but impossible to broadcast 50 minutes that have investigated down to the last centimeter for truth?"
"Isn't it appropriate to investigate the story for which Davidian was honored to carry a torch?" he continued, referring to the annual Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony. "Are some journalists who have come out against this broadcast really interested in Davidian's wellbeing, or did they fear they would run into questions about how they provided a platform for these lies, some of which can be disproved without much effort?"
Rom also responded to the cancelation, saying, "In recent days, a campaign has been launched that insists on Davidian's right to lie to the public in countless interviews and lectures and even to raise money from donors who think he's in bad financial shape (Davidian told us his financial situation is excellent and claimed that all the fundraising for him was done without his knowledge and against his will) and sought to stop us from telling the public why these are lies – and yes, also from telling about the wonderful things Davidian did do. This campaign won't succeed," he continued. "One way or another, the truth will come out in the end."
Davidian, a resident of Patish in southern Israel, lit a torch on Independence Day last year. In December, he said in an interview with Ayala Hasson on the public television station Kan 11 that two other October 7 heroes, Israel Ziv and Noam Tibon, didn't rescue any civilians on that day, but ran away.
In response to that interview, Ziv wrote in a post on X that "Without hurting Mr. Davidian by revealing his difficulties and problems, I will point out that I agreed to his request to meet with him. At that meeting, he showed his difficulties and asked me for financial favors I couldn't give him. At that meeting, I also expressed admiration for his actions.
"But the idiotic statement that was put in his mouth – that 'we fled the scene' is utterly baseless and certainly never happened. Regrettably, this despicable lie had witnesses, so I was forced to submit a libel suit against this wretched man, who has been exploited."
Following Ziv's post, Davidian was interviewed by Gidon Ucko on Channel 12 television and apologized for what he said about Ziv and Tibon. "Before I went on the air, I read something I hadn't planned," he said. "The father of one of the women who were rescued told me that his daughter had taken her own life. Post-traumatic stress overcame me; I went on the air, and things came out of me that should never have come out of my mouth."
When asked whether anyone had asked him to say what he did, he replied, "Nobody influences me; I'm old enough. I'm not connected to any political side, and I'm not financed by anyone."
Ziv, whom Ucko also brought on the air, accepted his apology. "It's easy for me to forgive him," he said. "I also understand his situation."
Kan 11 reporter Michael Shemesh wrote a post on Sunday before the cancelation was announced in which he criticized the scheduled program as represented in the promo.
"What matters to us is how many people Rami saved?" he wrote. "How does that affect Israelis? How is that likely to improve our quality of life? What good can it do us to dig into this question? October 7 was a traumatic day in the nation's heart, in all of our hearts. It's a day that had good people and bad people. Rami, certainly, is on the side of the good people."
archive.ph/2025.04.07-093331/www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-04-07/ty-article/.premium/israeli-television-pulls-program-debunking-testimony-of-key-figure-of-october-7/00000196-0f25-d93f-a7f7-4f6fd0b60000