Sky News dismisses anchor after comparing Gaza War to Holocaust in interview with Israeli Knesset member

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British television network Sky News dismissed host Belle Donati after comments she made comparing Israel’s handling of the war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza with the Holocaust.

Donati has not presented on the network since she made the comments, and Sky News has chosen not to renew her contract, according to a Deadline report.

Donati made the comments in a January interview with then-Israeli Knesset Member Danny Danon – who has since been appointed Israeli ambassador to the UN – in which she accused him of advocating the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

“You suggested the ethnic cleansing of some of Gaza’s population to Western countries that would accept the refugees,” Donati said. “The exact quote from that article: ‘One idea is for countries around the world to accept limited numbers of Gazan families who have expressed a desire to relocate.’ Do you stand by those statements?”

“You know, ethnic cleansing, that’s the word you used. If you read my article, I spoke about voluntary migration,” Danon responded. “I spoke about voluntary migration. And I think anyone in the world who voluntarily wants to move to another country should be eligible to do that.”

It was at this point in the conversation that Donati compared Danon’s suggestion to the Holocaust, saying that such “voluntary migration” would be “the sort of voluntary relocation of many Jewish people during the Holocaust, I imagine. It is not voluntary relocation.”

Danon responded by accusing Donati of antisemitism.

“How can you even compare that?” he said. “Shame on you for that comparison…this is pure antisemitism, what you just said—comparing the Holocaust to what’s happening today in Gaza. Pure antisemitism. Shame on you for this behavior. Shame on you for this equation. You should apologize for what you just said, on the record, about the Holocaust. How can you even compare that?”

While Donati has not apologized for her remarks, Sky News issued an apology on the same day as the interview.

“Sky News recognized the complete inappropriateness of this comparison and the offensive nature of those comments. Sky News would like to apologize unreservedly for the comparison and to Mr Danon personally for making the comparison.”

Two days after the interview, Danon wrote on 𝕏 that he had “submitted a formal letter to the Sky News Group, requesting the immediate termination” of the anchor.