Entry To Political Life
On November 29, 2005, two weeks after Amir Peretz was interviewed by Yachimovich on "Meet the Press" for the occasion of his election as leader of the Labor Party, Yachimovich announced she was leaving journalism and entering politics. She ran in the Labor primaries and achieved the ninth place on the party's list for the 2006 elections, in which she was elected to the Knesset.
Yachimovich was criticized on her sharp move from journalism to politics. Critics noted that it was inappropriate for a watchdog journalist to become a member of the system she was supposed to be guarding. Others alleged that the interview she had with Peretz shortly before joining politics must have lacked professional impartiality, according to journalism ethics. Following criticisms, a cooling-off period of 3 months was imposed on journalists by Israeli broadcast regulator The Second Authority in late 2005. Yachimovich later claimed on her behalf that she didn't have the slightest idea of joining politics on her mind during that interview. She also declared that she opposes any cooling-off periods on joining politics, arguing that these should instead be imposed on parliamentarians and civil servants who upon leaving the public sphere immediately join high profile positions in the private sector, exploiting their influence to make private profits.
Despite criticisms, her entry to political life was preceded and followed by numerous other Israeli journalists who ran for a Knesset sit, including Nitzan Horowitz, Yair Lapid, Nachman Shai, Uri Orbach, Ofer Shelach and Merav Michaeli. Public debate has continued to question this practice, leading to a failed Knesset bill to be debated in 2010 and again in 2012, proposing a cooling-off period of 6 months for journalists before entering politics.
Read more about this topic: Shelly Yachimovich
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