Channel 14 bans panelist after he makes call to free late Prime Minister Rabin's murderer

A panelist on Channel 14's popular TV news program, “The Patriots,” was banned from the channel after he called for the release of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's murderer, Yigal Amir, from prison.

The panelist, Israeli lawyer Ari Shamai, said: “I am happy to hear one statement — that the High Court of Justice is against personal laws. If that is so, then the time has come to release the assassin Yigal Amir because personal laws were made against him.”

Shamai, who has represented Amir in the past, made his comments during a live broadcast on Sunday.

His suggestion was made in the context of a debate about personal laws, following a High Court ruling based on a recent law passed by the Israeli Knesset. The law was specifically intended to allow Boaz Yosef, acting mayor of Tiberias and member of the Shas party, to run for a full term in office, which would only go into effect after the next election.

Immediately following Shamai's comments, host Yinon Magal ended the discussion, saying, “We’re not getting into this.”

Other panelists could be heard disagreeing with Shamai, while some in the audience began applauding.

After the show, Channel 14 announced that Shamai would not be invited to appear again.

“The serious remarks Ari Shamai said represent his views alone. In light of the seriousness of the matter, Mr. Shamai will no longer be invited to appear on the channel’s programs.”

Israel's Kan news outlet called Shamai following the announcement, asking him if he stood by his comments, however, the lawyer reportedly refused to answer and replied he would only give interviews live on air.

On Monday, Israeli food conglomerate Strauss Group announced they would no longer advertise on Channel 14, citing "repeated hurtful comments on the channel’s programs."

“We choose to advertise according to a code of ethics and demand the same from all of the channels and media platforms,” read the statement from Strauss.

Channel 14 subsequently released a response and called the decision by Strauss Group “an embarrassing expression of their condescension and attempt to reeducate the hundreds of thousands of Channel 14 viewers."

"It would be best that Strauss focus on the quality of their products instead of trying to educate the public,” they added.

Channel 14 is a popular conservative news channel in Israel and has been called the "Israeli Fox News."

Many of the channel's presenters openly support the government's judicial overhaul.

Yigal Amir assassinated Rabin on Nov. 4, 1995, at a rally in Tel Aviv in support of the Oslo Accords.