Mohamed Kaci, a journalist of Algerian origin working for the French channel TV5Monde which presents itself as the first French-speaking channel in the Maghreb, is in the crosshairs of the Israeli lobby in France.
He has become famous since the channel that employs him publicly disavowed how he conducted an interview on November 15 with a spokesperson for the Israeli army, Olivier Rafowicz.
Shattering revelations are made about the pressure from the pro-Israeli lobby put on the management of TV5Monde to sanction its journalists.
According to many specialists, Mohamed Kaci did not commit professional misconduct during the interview in question. All he did was not be complacent with his counterpart and did not hesitate to ask him embarrassing questions that undermined Israeli propaganda. to justify the war waged against the Gaza Strip.
“ Are you behaving like Hamas? Is that what you’re telling us this evening? », notably retorted the journalist when the Israeli soldier stressed that Hamas also does not respect international law.
Mohamed Kaci is a journalist who does work recognized by the entire profession […] He quite simply asked the propagandist spokesperson of the Israeli army the question of knowing whether the army would consider that a humanitarian corridor is needed to save Gazans,” explains independent journalist Mourad Guichard.
But this is not the opinion of the French public channel which, on November 20, published a press release in which it completely disavowed Mohamed Kaci, considering that “ the journalistic rules, applicable to any interview, were not respected » during the interview and that it did not end “ according to the standards in force for control of the antenna, but too abruptly ”.
Mohamed Kaci, a TV5Monde journalist handed over to the pro-Israeli lobby and the far-right
For Mourad Guichard, this is an anomaly. The publication of such a press release should in no case be done before having summoned and listened to the person concerned. What TV5Monde, which presents itself as the first French-speaking channel in the Maghreb, and most of its audience comes from Africa, has not done.
Guichard recalls that an intervention by the same spokesperson on Swiss television ended in a direct clash, the host having cut the air in the face of the ” arrogant ” attitude of the Israeli soldier, but she was neither sanctioned nor disavowed by his employer.
Why such a reaction from the French channel? According to the site Arrêt sur images, which cites members of the TV5Monde editorial team, it would have received “ external pressure ”. The site evokes an anger that “ does not subside ” among journalists because of this pressure and the “ letting go ” of their colleagues.
“ Françoise Joly and Antoine Genton (director and deputy director, editor’s note) told us they had received phone calls from political leaders, with requests for the layoff, or even dismissal of Mohamed Kaci,” testifies a journalist, according to Arrêt sur pictures.
TV host Arthur, known for his pro-Israeli activism, particularly since October 7, is cited by name as one of the authors of these phone calls.
“ Yves Bigot (general director of TV5, editor’s note) said he received a phone call from Arthur warning him to be careful because there would be complaints from France and Israel,” says another journalist. who assures that, upon hearing this, he and his colleagues fell out of their chairs.
That Arthur’s name is directly mentioned is an indication of the role of pro-Israeli lobbies in the pressure aimed at influencing how the French media cover the war that Israel has been waging against Gaza since October 7.
Even before these revelations, the former French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, denounced on the TMC channel the “ financial domination ” that “ weighs heavily ” on the media and the art world.
“ They cannot say what they think, quite simply because the contracts stop immediately,” criticized the former head of French diplomacy, how related news is treated in the Western and French media. to the war in Palestine.
