Anchor Loses Job After Equating IDF in Gaza to Nazi Regime

Belle Donati, a presenter for Sky News, has been let go from the network following a heated interview in which she drew a controversial comparison between Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. The incident occurred during a January interview with Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. and a former Likud Knesset member, and has since led to significant backlash.

The interview focused on an op-ed Danon co-wrote with Yesh Atid MK Ram Ben-Barak, published in The Wall Street Journal in November 2023. During the exchange, Donati suggested that Danon advocated for the “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza’s population, a claim Danon quickly refuted, stating that he had proposed “voluntary immigration” rather than forced expulsion.

The interview took a sharp turn when Donati said, “The sort of voluntary relocation of many Jewish people during the Holocaust, I imagine,” a remark that infuriated Danon. “Shame on you for that comparison,” he responded, accusing the presenter of antisemitism and demanding an apology.

Following the interview, Danon took to social media, condemning the comparison and calling for Donati’s immediate dismissal from Sky News. “In 2024, there should be no tolerance for news anchors who propagate antisemitism,” Danon wrote on X.

Sky News quickly distanced itself from Donati’s remarks, issuing an on-air apology from presenter Jonathan Samuels, who acknowledged the “offensive nature” of the comparison and apologized to Danon personally.

According to Deadline, Sky News chose not to renew Donati’s contract following the interview. Donati, who had been working with Sky News as a freelance presenter since 2021, has not appeared on the network since the incident, and her social media accounts have been inactive. Prior to her time at Sky News, Donati worked for Euronews and the BBC.

Attempts by various news outlets to reach Donati for comment have been unsuccessful, and Sky News has declined to provide further statements on the matter.

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