Israeli government approves controversial closure of Army Radio after 75 years

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured center with other Cabinet ministers, welcomed the decision to close Army Radio. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters via CNN Newsource)

The Israeli government has approved the closure of the country’s Army Radio after 75 years of broadcasting, in a move that shutters one of Israel’s oldest media institutions at a time of mounting concerns over press freedom.

Under the proposal, introduced by Defense Minister Israel Katz, the station, known as Galei Tzahal, will cease operations on March 1.

The resolution passed unanimously Monday despite opposition from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who warned in an official memorandum that the decision lacked the necessary factual and professional foundation and that advancing it violated the law.

“The decision forms part of a broader move to undermine public broadcasting in Israel and to restrict freedom of expression,” Baharav-Miara said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the decision, saying “a military station broadcasting under the army’s authority exists in North Korea and perhaps a few other countries, and we certainly don’t want to be counted among them.”

The Israel Press Council, the Israeli journalists’ union, and other civil society groups have said they will challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

Katz announced his intention to close down Army Radio last month, amid a broader government push to consolidate control over the media sphere, including a dramatic broadcast regulation reform that would give the government sweeping authority to fine and sanction news outlets.

The military-run broadcaster is legally an IDF unit overseen by the Chief of Staff, but has a vibrant news department operated by both soldiers and civilian journalists, who host some of the country’s most popular political talk shows and some of the journalists are regularly critical of politicians and the military.

Katz is not the first defense minister to dislike the tone of Army Radio’s journalist and others had previously floated the idea of closing or restructuring it. But he is the first to take action - – convening what critics have called a hand-picked committee of figures politically aligned with the government who recommended closing the station down or converting it to a different model, without substantial news and political content.

Katz said in a statement that “a reality in which a radio station, intended for all citizens of the state, is operated by the army is an anomaly that does not exist in democratic countries.”

“This anomaly causes substantial difficulty for the IDF stemming from the involuntary involvement of the IDF in political discourse. The station’s engagement in political content harms the Israel Defense Forces, its soldiers, and its unity.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid condemned the decision, calling it “part of the government’s campaign to abolish freedom of speech in Israel during an election year. They fail to control reality, so they try to control consciousness. Wherever there’s a truth inconvenient to the government, they act to eliminate it.”

“The government doesn’t know how to deal with the cost of living, the neglect of security … so it shuts down the media,” he said.

By Tal Shalev and Eugenia Yosef