Reporter Says More Journalists Are Liberal Because Left-Wingers Have Higher IQ

A reporter for a widely-watched Israeli television news program has suggested that more journalists have a liberal political outlook because they possess higher intelligence.

Ilan Lukatch, the culture reporter for Channel 2 News, received a question on his Facebook page last week inquiring, “How many people at Channel 2 affiliate with the political right?”

Ilan Lukatch reports for Israel's Channel 2 News (Image: Facebook)

According to The Times of Israel, Lukatch replied, “I will not give you a list of names, for obvious reasons, but there are right-wingers.”

“Of course there are more on the left, but that’s because there’s correlation between one’s IQ and political leaning, and senior figures in the media are generally above average,” he wrote.

The Israeli news site Walla reported that the second part of Lukatch’s post read, “there’s correlation between one’s IQ and left [political] leaning.”

Several Israeli news sites reported that Channel 2 launched a disciplinary inquiry into Lukatch’s statements.

According to Walla, Lukatch was reprimanded for his comments.

TheBlaze was unable to locate Lukatch’s original Facebook post which was quoted in the Times of Israel, Walla, and Arutz 7.

Walla reported that along with his controversial comment, Lukatch attached a study supporting his claim.

On Sunday, Lukatch appeared to backtrack, writing on Facebook that he “fell” in two ways. “I both deduced a causal correlation, which is a mistake of novices, and I assumed that American data are valid here, as the right/left there is another matter. In short, I was wrong,” Lukatch wrote.

He appeared to suggest that the argument would be different in the U.S. and Israel, because the distinction between right and left in Israeli politics is based on security and defense rather than economic issues.

Reporter Ilan Lukatch interviewed Glenn Beck in 2011 in Jerusalem (Screenshot: Channel 2)

In 2011 in Jerusalem, Lukatch interviewed Glenn Beck who he described as “ultra right-wing” and possessing a "big mouth."

Beck was in Israel for his “Restoring Courage” gatherings in support of the Jewish State, but Lukatch suggested that some Israelis felt uncomfortable by Beck’s support. “Not everyone is crazy about this [Beck’s] embrace,” Lukatch said, noting that a small left-wing group opposed the pro-Israel events.