Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid on Friday attacked the appointment of the editor of Haaretz's English edition, due to the fact that she is the partner of one of the founders of the leftist NGO "Breaking the Silence".

In a post on his Facebook page, Lapid wrote that journalist Noa Landau is “the life partner of Avner Gevaryahu, the loudest and most extreme defamator of Israel among the members of Breaking the Silence”.

“The English edition [of Haaretz] has reported in the past to its subscribers around the world – including the White House, the U.S. Congress and the European Union – that the majority of Israeli citizens support 'Apartheid' and that IDF soldiers are slaughtering Palestinian children. There is reason to assume that now it will get even worse,” continued Lapid.

Lapid added that “this is further proof (not that we needed it) that, contrary to all their claims, the members of Breaking the Silence do not really want to influence society here at home, they'd much rather discredit us abroad.”

Breaking the Silence has come under fire for its anti-Israel activity as well the fact that it was proven to be funded by Palestinian beneficiaries. In March, an investigative report on Breaking the Silence which aired on Channel 2 found that the group has apparently been collecting sensitive information on IDF methods and equipment.

Responding to Lapid's post, Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken said Friday, “This is a new low for the leader of Ofer Shelah and Yael German. We are very happy that the talented Noa Landau is returning to Haaretz.”

Haaretz Hebrew editor Aluf Benn backed Landau as well and said, “In my 30 years of journalism, I met a few professional editors like Noa Landau, in every possible way: courage, determination, leadership, recognition of stories, working well under pressure. But there is one thing we do not do at Haaretz: We do not check who the journalists' partners are and what their opinions are.”

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)