The Israeli government has unmatched control over how its citizens are presented with their critical news sources as a result of its crackdown on critical media outlets.
The so-called Al Jazeera Law, which allows the government to shut down foreign media outlets on national security grounds, is one of the changes. The Israeli parliament approved the two-year extension of the law on Tuesday to essentially stop Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel after it was started during Israel’s bloodbath in Gaza.
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Additionally, the government is attempting to shut down one of Israel’s two publicly funded news outlets, Army Radio. The Israeli right wing frequently criticizes the radio station because it believes Army Radio is biased against it.
About half of Israelis still rely on broadcast news for current affairs information, and about a third also rely on radio stations for news.
Important is the media’s editorial and broadcasting tone. According to analysts inside Israel, the selective coverage of Palestinian suffering during Israel’s occupation of Gaza has contributed to the carnage and reinforced a sense of unease that justifies Israel’s ongoing assaults on both Gaza and regional nations like Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon.
The far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which includes ministers convicted of “terrorism” offences and others who have repeatedly called for the illegal annexation of the occupied West Bank, is looking to bypass legal controls on the media and bring more of Israel’s information feed under its control, despite what observers have described as a media environment firmly rigged in its favor.
Let’s examine this more closely.
because it is too critical in the eyes of the government.
Israeli politicians have long complained about how the Gaza war has been covered in both domestic and international media.
The government added a new accusation in November, partly blaming the media for the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
In response to attempts by the Israeli government to lessen the independence of the judiciary, communications minister Shlomo Karhi said, “If there hadn’t been a media entirely mobilized to encourage refusal to volunteer to reserve duty] and reckless opposition to the judicial reform, there wouldn’t have been such a rift in the country that led the enemy to take advantage of the opportunity.“
A plan to privatize Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, the move to end Army Radio, and an initiative to put the media regulator under the control of the government are just three things that are currently being considered.
Numerous reports about the government have been published on Army Radio and Kan, another state-funded outlet with editorial independence.
Eli Feldstein, Netanyahu’s former aide, told Kan that the prime minister had instructed him to create a strategy to help him avoid accepting responsibility for the attacks on October 7.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who defended the decision to shut down Army Radio, claimed on Monday that the outlet had evolved into a platform for attacking Israeli soldiers.
Israel’s media regulation may also change. A bill passed by the Israeli parliament in November that would replace the country’s existing media regulators with a new, independent body, potentially allowing for even greater state interference, was passed.
Israel has also ratified the emergency law that forbids foreign media outlets whose content it disagrees with. Israel used it in May 2024 to impose an emergency law, which was then used the following month to halt The Associated Press’ activities after the government accused the country’s news agency of sharing footage with Al Jazeera.
If the prime minister agrees to a professional assessment that the outlet poses a security threat, the communications minister may halt a foreign broadcaster’s transmissions with the approval of the prime minister’s approval and the backing of a ministerial committee. The minister has the authority to censor access to the broadcaster’s website, revoke equipment used to produce its content, and shut down its offices.
Have the actions drawn criticism?
Israel’s decision to impose laws against foreign media platforms that it perceives as a threat has been criticized by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the UK’s National Union of Journalists.
Israel is “waging a battle” against media outlets, both local and foreign, that denounce the government’s narrative, according to IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger in a statement. This is the kind of behavior of authoritarian regimes. We are deeply concerned that the Israeli parliament will pass this contentious bill because it would severely restrict free speech, media freedom, and be a direct assault on the public’s right to information.
Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara declared the move unlawful and accused Netanyahu’s coalition of making public broadcasting “weakened, threatened, institutionally silenced, and its future shrouded in mist” amid the harsh criticism of the attempt to shutter Army Radio.
Baharav-Miara has also criticized the government’s decision to regulate media, claiming that the bill “affects the very foundation of press freedom.”
Not very .
The Israeli government’s actions in Gaza, where more than 70 000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel, and in the occupied West Bank have largely received positive reviews from the Israeli media.
Palestinians’ suffering is rarely depicted, and it is frequently justified when it is.
The Israeli media provide cover for Israel’s military and government actions despite the killing of more than 270 journalists and media personnel in Gaza.
That means that Israelis frequently reject the hypocrisy of the statements made by their governments.
An example occurred in June after Israel’s 12-day war with Iran resulted in the arrest of an evacuated hospital. The Israeli government portrayed the incident as a war crime, and the Israeli media captured it.
However, Israel was accused by a number of organizations, including the UN, of routinely destroying Gaza’s healthcare system, with doctors being held accountable for their arrests and frequently tortured despite international law’s protection.
Source: Aljazeera
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