At a radio conference in Haifa on Monday, a former news editor for the Israel Broadcasting Authority made this stunningly brazen admission: “We slanted the news towards a withdrawal from Lebanon—because we had sons there.”

The editor, Chanan Naveh, was referring to Israel’s 2000 withdrawal from the security zone in southern Lebanon, under Ehud Barak’s supervision. He bragged about the powerful impact he and his colleagues had on shaping public opinion and their government’s agenda. “The morning audience, stuck in traffic jams or at work, is simply captive—they’re ours. … I have no doubt that we promoted an agenda of withdrawal ….”

At that point, an Army Radio broadcaster interrupted Naveh to say he was troubled by the newsmaker’s revelation. “I’m not apologizing,” the journalist rejoined. “It came from our guts because of the boys in Lebanon, this is what we did and I’m not sorry … I am very proud that we had a part in getting of our sons out of Lebanon.”

A few years later, of course, the sons of other Israelis were left to deal with the consequences of Israel’s withdrawal. In July of 2006, Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon sparked a war by crossing into Israel, killing three Israeli soldiers and abducting two others. The war that followed exposed the fact that Hezbollah had taken advantage of the years following Israel’s withdrawal to become deeply entrenched in southern Lebanon. In other words, Israel’s withdrawal led directly to last summer’s deadly yet indecisive war—not to mention what appears to be another war in the works.

This widely accepted reality, however, still appears lost on the Israeli media.

The enemies of the Jewish state can claim yet another victory in the propaganda war, this time thanks to Israel’s own newsmakers.