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Entering election year, Netanyahu’s government targets Israel’s free press
What began as Israel’s leader cold-shouldering the mainstream media is becoming a more widespread assault on the country’s freedom of the press.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not granted an interview to Israel’s three main broadcasters in over four years. He’s accused them of “brainwashing,” claimed they assist Israel’s enemies and personally gone after journalists who criticize him.
Now, that longstanding tension is evolving into something more aggressive.: On Monday, Netanyahu’s coalition will establish a special parliamentary committee to advance legislation that would replace Israel’s independent media regulators with political appointees. The change will give the government sweeping authority to fine and sanction news outlets – a move critics warn could permanently reshape the country’s media environment.
The bill, sponsored by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, a Netanyahu loyalist, passed its first reading last month after it was introduced in May. The government says its goal is to open the market, promote competition, remove outdated regulatory barriers and modernize Israel’s media laws for the digital era.
Israeli networks, however, have warned the proposed reform will expand political influence and erode editorial independence. In an unprecedented move, the rival networks created a joint emergency forum in August 2023 to oppose the government’s plans, which they dub a “hostile takeover” of the media market.
An official in the forum told CNN, “What we’re seeing is an attempted power grab on the eve on an election. The clear objective is to subdue the free press and silence criticism before Israelis go to the polls.”
‘True freedom of expression’
The media regulation bill is part of a broader set of restrictions and measures taken against freedom of the press in Israel. Earlier this year, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) dropped Israel’s ranking to 112 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index. “Disinformation campaigns and repressive laws have multiplied in Israel and pressure on Israeli journalists has intensified,” RSF said.
A bill originally aimed at banning Qatar-based Al-Jazeera is currently being expanded to empower the government to shutter certain foreign outlets without court oversight in the name of “national security.” Another bill would privatize Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan 11.
Defence Minister Israel Katz recently announced he will close Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) next year. While some have questioned the existence of a military-run broadcaster in a democracy, the timing aligns with the government’s wider moves to consolidate control over the media sphere.
And all of this is unfolding as Israel has barred foreign journalists from independently entering Gaza since the start of the war more than two years ago. Reporters Without Borders said the ban constitutes “an unprecedented violation of press freedom and the public’s right to reliable, independent, and pluralistic media reporting.”
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https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/01/middleeast/netanyahu-israel-press-freedom-crackdown-intl
