Israel’s push to transform the media landscape - The Global Jigsaw podcast, BBC World Service

Key Concepts

• Judicial Overhaul: Government attempt to change the judiciary, seen by many as an attack on democracy.
• Media Squeeze: Prime Minister Netanyahu's efforts to control and influence the media landscape in Israel.
• Channel 14: A right-wing Israeli news channel, likened to Fox News, that has gained popularity and favor from Netanyahu.
• Israel Hayom: A right-wing free newspaper established to counter perceived bias in other media outlets.
• Haaretz: A left-leaning Israeli newspaper known for its critical coverage of the government and its focus on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
• Kan: The Israeli public broadcaster, which has faced criticism and threats of defunding from the government.
• Military Censorship: Restrictions on the publication of information deemed harmful to national security.
• "Deep State" Conspiracy: Netanyahu's claim of a conspiracy against him involving the media, the Supreme Court, and security services.
• October 7th Attack: The Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza and significantly impacted the Israeli media landscape.

1. The Pre-October 7th Landscape: Judicial Overhaul and Media Transformation

• Before the Hamas attack, the main focus in Israel was the government's attempt to overhaul the judiciary, sparking mass protests.
• Alongside this, a less noticed transformation was occurring in the media landscape, with Benjamin Netanyahu playing a central role.
• Netanyahu, after losing an election in 1999, vowed to have his own media outlet in the future.
• He began to align himself with Channel 14, described by some as Israel's version of Fox News.
• The government, under Netanyahu, allegedly nurtured certain news outlets while depriving others of funding.
• The Union of Journalists criticized a cabinet order that suspended public advertising in the newspaper Haaretz.
• Critics accused the government of a "masterplan to silence independent media" and weaken press freedom.
• Netanyahu justified his actions by claiming a "deep state conspiracy" against him, involving the liberal media, the Supreme Court, and the Shin Bet (Israel's internal security service).

2. Reporting on the War in Gaza: A Selective and Sanitized View

• Israeli media coverage of the war in Gaza is heavily focused on the military perspective and the hostage crisis.
• Shaina Oppenheimer from BBC Monitoring notes that the coverage is "very selective" and "sanitized," with extensive information about the Israeli army's actions.
• There is a significant lack of coverage regarding the civilian impact of Israeli military actions in Gaza.
• Regular updates on the Palestinian civilian death toll and the growing humanitarian crisis are largely absent.
• Instead, there are often questions raised about the genuineness of the humanitarian crisis, with segments showing Palestinians celebrating Ramadan or enjoying a day at the beach being met with media criticism.
• One commentator even found images of people at the beach "disturbing," highlighting the focus on questioning the extent to which civilians in Gaza are allowed to have a normal life.
• A Channel 13 segment illustrated this bias when a presenter, upon hearing about a polio outbreak in Gaza, immediately asked what it meant for Israeli soldiers.

3. The Impact of October 7th: Trauma, Justification, and Limited Perspective

• The Hamas attack on October 7th, which resulted in over 1,200 deaths and around 250 hostages, was a major turning point.
• It was the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust and served as a trigger event that heavily influenced media coverage.
• The media focus shifted towards Israeli suffering, with daily interviews featuring survivors, family members of victims, and families of hostages.
• While protests for a hostage deal and against the war occur regularly, the rhetoric often fails to engage with the humanitarian crisis and the Palestinian death toll.
• Media access to Gaza is strictly limited to those embedded with the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), with newsgathering primarily done by Palestinian journalists and residents.
• Over 160 media workers have been killed in the war, according to the International Federation of Journalists.
• Reporting from Gaza is further complicated by the fact that the Strip is controlled by Hamas, a proscribed terror group.
• The October 7th attack validated the views of many Israelis who believe that Palestinians, given the opportunity, would want to destroy Israel.
• The event reinforced pre-existing beliefs and a sense of increasing hostility towards Jews, leading to the perception that only Israel can prevent such an event from happening again.

4. Media Freedom in Israel: Constraints and Challenges

• Israel ranks 112th on the World Press Freedom Index.
• While the media enjoy a degree of freedom, there are no laws explicitly protecting freedom of expression.
• Freedoms are protected under rulings by the Supreme Court, which acts as a check on the government.
• The media can criticize the government but are subject to military censorship, which can restrict the publication of information deemed harmful to national security.
• Much of the Israeli media is owned by a few tycoons, some of whom have been implicated in corruption cases involving Netanyahu.
• In April 2024, a law was passed empowering the Minister of Communications to halt broadcasts of foreign media if the content is deemed harmful to state security.
• The government voted to shut down Al Jazeera's operations in Israel.

5. The Disconnect in Perceptions: Israel vs. the Rest of the World

• There is a significant disconnect between what people in Israel see about the war in Gaza and what people in the rest of the world see.
• Many Israelis perceive this gap as evidence that the world does not understand them, is increasingly hostile towards them, and is increasingly antisemitic.
• There is a tendency to conflate the Palestinian flag with Hamas.
• Despite this, Israelis can access international media outlets like BBC and CNN to see the humanitarian crisis.

6. The Rise of Right-Wing Media: Channel 14 and Netanyahu's Influence

• There has been a rise in right-wing media outlets in recent years, with Channel 14 being a prime example.
• Channel 14 was initially established as a Jewish heritage channel but was later pushed by Netanyahu to start doing news, receiving regulatory benefits in the process.
• It quickly became the second most-watched channel in Israel.
• Netanyahu has long criticized the media for perceived bias against him and his family.
• In 2007, Israel Hayom, a right-wing free newspaper, was established to counter Yediot Ahronoth, a widely popular newspaper.
• Netanyahu has been accused of trading benefits to outlets like Walla! in return for favorable coverage, leading to his ongoing corruption trial.
• Yinon Magal, the anchor of Channel 14's "The Patriots," is known for his entertaining style and his strong support for a "total victory" in Gaza.
• Channel 14 has been criticized for inciting war crimes, with a study finding that the channel had called for genocide more than 50 times and made 150 statements calling for war crimes since the start of the war.
• Netanyahu justifies his attempts to control the media by claiming a lack of media diversity and accusing liberal outlets of bias and slander.

7. The Left-Wing Perspective: Haaretz and its Struggles

• Haaretz is a left-leaning newspaper that has long been seen as a champion of opposition to Netanyahu.
• It is known for its critical coverage of the government and its focus on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
• Haaretz is not very popular in Israel and has faced criticism for its views.
• The publisher, Amos Schocken, referred to Hamas militants as freedom fighters, causing a huge uproar and leading to a government boycott of the paper.
• Haaretz is the only major subscription-based publication in Israel and is under significant financial constraints.

8. Government Crackdowns on Media Outlets: Al Jazeera and Kan

• The government has used emergency regulatory laws to take steps against media outlets deemed to be a threat to national security.
• Al Jazeera was accused of being a mouthpiece for Hamas and of revealing the locations of soldiers, leading to the closure of its offices in Israel.
• The law used to shut down Al Jazeera is being challenged in the Supreme Court.
• Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has long despised the public broadcaster Kan, seeing it as a liberal outlet that is too critical of right-wing policies.
• He introduced a bill to stop public funding of Kan, which passed a preliminary reading but is currently on pause.
• Karhi accused Kan of spreading false propaganda and undermining the goals of the war.

9. Netanyahu's Media Strategy: Selective Appearances and Social Media

• Before October 7th, Netanyahu was heavily criticized over allegations of corruption and carefully curated his media appearances.
• After returning to power in late 2022, he largely stopped giving interviews to Israeli outlets, with the exception of Channel 14.
• He appears in international media, giving a softer version of his policies than what is presented to the Israeli public.
• He regularly shares clips of Channel 14 on his social media account, demonstrating his strong preference for the channel.
• Netanyahu continues to criticize media outlets that are critical of his handling of the war and other issues.

10. Public Opinion and the Future of Media Freedom in Israel

• In the immediate aftermath of the war, there was a sense of public unity in Israel.
• However, this quickly turned back into a huge public divide, as evidenced by the protests against the judicial overhaul.
• Support for Netanyahu and his Likud party has declined since the outbreak of the war.
• The government's vision for the media draws comparisons with Hungary's model of "illiberal democracy," raising fears about press freedom and government influence on independent media.
• Attempts to crack down on media outlets could have serious repercussions for the existence of a free press in Israel.
• Curbing an outlet like Kan could significantly affect the types of discussions being had and the critical coverage of what many Israelis see as attempts to crack down on independent and democratic institutions.

Synthesis/Conclusion

The Israeli media landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, marked by government attempts to control and influence the media, the rise of right-wing outlets like Channel 14, and a selective and sanitized coverage of the war in Gaza. Netanyahu's efforts to shape the media narrative, coupled with the trauma of the October 7th attack, have created a polarized environment where critical voices are under attack and the public's access to diverse perspectives is increasingly limited. The future of media freedom in Israel remains uncertain, with concerns that the country is moving towards a model of "illiberal democracy" that could further erode independent journalism and democratic institutions.