Hashidur Hamefutzal

Hashidur Hamefzal (Hebrew: השידור המפוצל) "The split broadcast" was the name given to Telad decision to broadcast reports from the suicide attack in the Beit Israel neighbourhood in Jerusalem, while continuing to broadcast a football match, side by side. This decision is considered an Israeli milestone on the collision between rating and national responsibility, as well as with the issue of dealing with terror.

On the second of March, 2002, a football match between Maccabi Haifa, then the league leader and Maccabi Kiryat Gat, the last, was broadcast. After 30 minutes led Kiriat Gat 3-0, on what that seems as one of the extraordinary matches for years. At the same time, first reports of a suicide attack started to arrive. Instead of moving to the scene of the attack, or, alternatively, keep on broadcasting the game, decided Telad to split the screen. On the right third on the screen the game was shown while in the rest of it, pictures from the attack were presented. Still, the soundtrack contain solely reports from Jerusalem. After about ten minutes the split broadcast was interrupted and the screen was dedicated only to the reports about the suicide attack.

As a response for that, decided the Second Israeli Broadcasting Authority to "condemn poignantly this unacceptable behavior of Telad and her director, Uzi Peled, in the critical moments of the bloody suicide attack in Jerusalem". Moreover, it decided to take extreme punishing measures (which actually were never taken) and stated this decision followed previous events in which Telad refused to interrupt broadcasting football in order to report about terror acts.

Uzi Peled replied: "Telad gave the broadcast to the News Company when the first report was given, and around 20:00, when the size of the disaster was not yet known, we decided for about 10 minutes to broadcast using a splitted screen, without commercials and without voice from the football match. We did not have any economical concerns, we lost over one million shekels... after ten minutes as we understood there were fatalities in the attack we totally stopped the broadcasting of the football match. Retroactively, had we known the magnitude of the event, we sure wouldn't have chosen to split the screen"

This decision is considered as one on the lowest points in Arutz 2 image, and Telad particularly, It followed by harsh criticism both by journalists and by the wide public. Some connect it to Telad losing its Franchising, 3 years later.

Further reading

* [http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=137119&contrassID=5&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0 THe Second Israeli Broadcasting Authority: Telad should be punished due the split screen] - Haaretz (Hebrew)
* [http://stagemag.co.il/Articles/84 Yet another fooball's saturday] - Etgar Keret (Hebrew)