Al-Qahera Wal Nas TV subsequently removed the interview from its television broadcasts and digital platforms pending a review of how the segment was prepared and presented.
The approximately 34-minute interview, posted in full on 16 July, addressed the repercussions of the 7 October operations, Israel’s regional wars, and the future of unconditional US support for Israel.
During the discussion, Levy described the peace treaty with Egypt as Israel’s most important strategic achievement and said Israeli proposals to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip into Egypt were a grave mistake.
The Media Syndicate said Qassem had violated the Media Code of Ethics and the Professional Code of Conduct by allowing Levy to make what it described as “grave errors and inaccuracies” without challenging or correcting them.
“The responsibility for managing the discussion rests with the presenter,” the syndicate said, according to Egyptian media reports.
Qassem defended the interview, saying he was surprised by the reaction and would have preferred the debate to focus on its content.
He described the criticism as an attempt to discredit the episode without addressing the issues discussed and noted that Levy had previously appeared on Arab media outlets.
Levy is a prominent columnist and editorial board member at Israel's left-leaning Haaretz newspaper. For decades, his reporting and commentary have focused on the Israeli occupation and Palestinian rights, frequently drawing criticism within Israel.
He writes Haaretz’s weekly Twilight Zone column on conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories and received Israel’s Sokolov Prize for journalism in 2021
In response to the controversy, Al-Qahera Wal Nas said it had withdrawn the segment until it completed a review of “all aspects related to its preparation and the mechanism of its presentation.”
The channel stressed its commitment to professional standards, national principles, and content that reflects the values and sentiments of Egyptian society.
Meanwhile, Journalists Syndicate board member Mahmoud Kamel clarified that Qassem was not a member of the syndicate's general assembly and was therefore not subject to its disciplinary procedures.
Kamel nevertheless described the interview as a "crime" against the Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai and reiterated the syndicate's rejection of all forms of normalization with Israel.
The Journalists Syndicate's anti-normalization policy dates back to 1980, shortly after Egypt and Israel signed their 1979 peace treaty, and has since been repeatedly reaffirmed to cover professional, personal, and syndicate-level contacts.
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