Mass media in Israel

There are over ten different languages in the Israeli media,^[1] with Hebrew as the predominant one. Press in Arabic caters to the Arab citizens of Israel, with readers from areas including those governed by the Palestinian National Authority. During the eighties and nineties, the Israeli press underwent a process of significant change as the media gradually came to be controlled by a limited number of organizations, whereas the papers published by political parties began to disappear. Today, three large, privately owned conglomerates based in Tel Aviv dominate the mass media in Israel.^[2]

It has been suggested that Newspapers in Israel be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2024.

Censorship in Israel is exercised when it is certain that publication of the item in question would harm public safety. When an item is censored, the newspaper may appeal the censor's ruling to a "committee of three," composed of a member of the public (who serves as the chairman), a representative of the army and a representative of the press. The decisions of the committee are binding, and over the years it has in many cases overruled the decision of the censor.^[2]

History

The history of the press began in 1863, before Israeli independence and during the Ottoman Empire, with Ha-Levanon and Havatzelet being the first weekly Hebrew newspapers established. In 1952, the International Publishing Company J-M Ltd was established as the state's first book publisher.^[3] Censorship was regularly enforced in years after independence, throughout the Yom Kippur War and the 1970s.^[3] In 1986, the government allowed for the establishment of private and commercial media outlets to run in competition with state media.^[3]

Freedom of the press

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Thumb — Entrance of Beit Sokolov, house of the Israeli Journalists Association

The Israeli government generally respects freedom of the press, which is protected by the Basic Laws of Israel and independent judiciary.^[4] Hate speech, and publishing praise of violence or issues of national security is prohibited.^[4] While Israeli journalists operate with little restriction, the government has placed more restrictions on Palestinian journalists working in the region, as Reporters Without Borders alleges that the authorities entered Palestinian offices and homes looking for "illegal material".^{[full citation needed]}^[5] Some have argued that freedom of press is restricted for Palestinians.^[6] The media does carry criticism of government policy.^[4]

Publication of a newspaper in Israel is illegal without a permit from the government, which continues to implement the Press Ordinance enacted by the Mandatory Government in 1933.^[7] Permits can be refused for a variety of reasons, including that the proprietor is less than 25 years old or has a criminal record or insufficient education.^[7]^[8] An investigation by Haaretz early in 2016 revealed that in the preceding decade at least 62 out of more than 500 permit applications had been rejected.^[7] Other regulations, including the 1945 Defence (Emergency) Regulations, can also be used to regulate newspaper publication.^[7]

According to information provided by the military censor in response to a Freedom of Information request, in 2017 the censor banned the publication of 271 articles outright, and fully or partially redacted 21% of the articles submitted to it.^[9]

Following the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis Israel took steps to ban Qatar-based Al Jazeera by closing its Jerusalem office, revoking press cards, and asking cable and satellite broadcasters not to broadcast al-Jazeera. Defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, had described some of al-Jazeera reports as "Nazi Germany-style" propaganda. It was not clear if the measures covered Al Jazeera English, considered less strident.^[10]

Under Israeli law, it is forbidden to proselytize to a person under 18 without the consent of a parent. It is also forbidden to offer material benefits in the process of proselytizing.^[11]^[12]

On 24 November 2024, Israel's government ordered a boycott of the newspaper Haaretz by government officials and anyone working for a government-funded body, and banned government advertising with the newspaper.^[13] According to The Guardian, Haaretz "had published a series of investigations of wrongdoing or abuses by senior officials and the armed forces, and has long been in the crosshairs of the current government."^[13]

Freedom House

Freedom House publishes an annual Freedom of the Press report. The 2013 report described Israel as having "the freest press in the region" but downgraded its status from "Free" to "Partly Free" in response to "the indictment of journalist Uri Blau for possession of state secrets, the first time this law had been used against the press in several decades, as well as instances of politicized interference with the content of the Israel Broadcasting Authority radio programs and concerns surrounding the license renewal of television's Channel 10."^[14] The 2023 Freedom in the World report gave Israel a 3 out of 4 report for Freedom of Expression.^[15] The report stated that though the media is generally free to criticize the government, print articles remain subject to censorship by the military, and that right-ward leaning trends under the Netanyahu administration further threatened public faith in the press.^[15]

Reporters Without Borders

In 2023 Reporters Without Borders ranked Israel 97th out of 180 in their Press Freedom Index.^[16] Palestine was rated 156th out of 180 in 2023. The results for Israel and the Palestinian National Authority from 2002 to the present are shown below, with lower numbers indicating better treatment of reporters:

More information Year, Israel (Israeli territory) ...

Year	Israel (Israeli territory)	Israel (extraterritorial)	Palestine	No. of national entities rated	Report URL
2002	92	Not Specified	82	139	^[17]
2003	44	146	130	166	^[18]
2004	36	115	127	167	^[19]
2005	47	Not Specified	132	167	^[20]
2006	50	135	134	168	^[21]
2007	44	103	158	169	^[22]
2008	46	149	163	173	^[23]
2009	93	150	161	175	^[24]
2014	96	Not Specified	138	180	^[25]
2018	87		134	180	^[26]
2019	88		137	180	^[27]
2020	88		137	180	^[27]
2021	86		132	180	^[27]
2022	86		170	180	^[27]
2023	97		156	180	^[27]

Committee to Protect Journalists

Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Israel has detained Palestinian reporters without trial and least 83 media reporters were killed in Gaza. According to a report issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in January 2023, Israel became one of the “worst jailers of journalists,” putting it on par with Iran.^[28]

List of media outlets

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Print

Israel has a large number of dailies, weeklies and periodicals, all privately owned.^[29]

B'Sheva: Hebrew-language weekly religious newspaper.
Calcalist: Hebrew-language daily business newspaper.
Globes: Hebrew-language daily business newspaper (with online English edition).
Haaretz: Israel's oldest daily newspaper with Hebrew and English editions.
Hamodia: daily Haredi newspaper with Hebrew, English and French editions.
Israel Hayom: Hebrew-language free daily newspaper (with online English edition).
Israel Post: Hebrew-language free daily newspaper.
Al-Ittihad: Arabic-language daily communist newspaper.
The Jerusalem Post: Israel's oldest English-language newspaper.
Kul al-Arab: Arabic-language weekly newspaper.
Maariv: Hebrew-language daily newspaper.
Makor Rishon: Hebrew-language weekly newspaper.
TheMarker: Hebrew-language business media.
Vesti: Russian-language daily newspaper.
Yated Ne'eman: daily Haredi newspaper with Hebrew and English editions.
Yedioth Ahronoth: Hebrew-language daily newspaper.

Broadcast

Channel 9: Russian-language television channel.
Keshet 12 Hebrew-language television channel.
Reshet 13: Hebrew-language television channel.
Now 14: Hebrew-language television channel aimed at Jewish audience.
Galei Tzahal: Hebrew-language general interest radio station.
Galgalatz: Hebrew-language radio station broadcasting music, traffic reports and news.
i24news: international news television channel in Hebrew, English, French and Arabic.
Israeli Broadcasting Corporation: public broadcaster.
- Kan 11: Hebrew-language television channel.
- Kan Educational: Hebrew-language television channel for children.
- Kan 33 (Makan): Arabic-language television channel.
- Kol Yisrael: radio service.
Knesset Channel: Hebrew-language political television channel.
Kol Chai: Hebrew-language radio station aimed at Orthodox audience.

Internet

+972: A blog-based web magazine in English, with a Hebrew companion Mekomit [he] providing on-the-ground reporting and analysis of events in Israel and Palestine.
Arutz Sheva: radio station and website in Hebrew, English and Russian.
Bamahane: online magazine in Hebrew published by the Israel Defense Forces (shut down).
Debkafile: intelligence website in Hebrew and English.
Kikar HaShabbat: Hebrew-language Haredi website.
Mida: online magazine in Hebrew and English.
mako: online news and entertainment portal.
The Times of Israel: news website in English, Arabic, French, Persian and Hebrew.
Bokra, Israeli-Arab media website
Davar, Histadrut-affiliated news website.
TLV1: English-language internet radio station.
Walla!: Hebrew-language web portal.
Ynet: Hebrew-language and English-language news website.
Israel-Nachrichten: German-language online daily.

References

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External links