Is Israel’s government waging war on Al Jazeera and the media?

Is Israel’s government waging war on Al Jazeera and the media? Critics say Israel’s media laws, including a ban on Al Jazeera, aim to silence dissenting voices, undermining democracy and free speech. The Israeli government is cracking down on critical media outlets, giving it unprecedented control over how its actions are presented to its citizens. Among the moves is the so-called Al Jazeera Law, which allows the government to shut down foreign media outlets on national security grounds. On Tuesday, the Israeli parliament approved the extension of the law for two years after it was introduced during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza to essentially stop Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel. Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4 How much is US support for Israel costing Donald Trump? list 2 of 4 Netanyahu finally announces October 7 inquiry: Why are Israelis furious? list 3 of 4 Israeli truce violations making Gaza peace efforts ‘incredibly difficult’ list 4 of 4 Israel extends law that banned Al Jazeera for two more years Separately, the government is also moving to shut down the popular Army Radio network, one of two publicly funded Israeli news outlets. The radio station is often criticised by the Israeli right wing, which views Army Radio as being biased against it. Israelis are still reliant on receiving their news from traditional outlets with about half relying on broadcast news for information on current affairs and about a third similarly relying upon radio stations. The tone of the media that is allowed to publish and broadcast is important. According to analysts inside Israel, the selective broadcasting of Palestinian suffering during Israel’s war on Gaza has helped sustain the carnage and reinforced a sense of grievance that allows for Israel’s continued assaults on Gaza as well as regional countries, such as Syria, Yemen and Lebanon. Despite what observers characterise as a media environment firmly rigged in its favour, the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which contains ministers convicted of “terrorism” offences and others who have repeatedly called for the illegal annexation of the occupied West Bank, is looking nevertheless to bypass legal checks on its control of the media and bring more of Israel’s information feed under its control. Let’s take a closer look. Why is the Israeli government clamping down on the media? Because the government believes it is too critical. Israeli politicians have long complained about how the war in Gaza has been covered in both the international and domestic media. But the government added a new accusation in November, partly blaming the media for the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. “If there hadn’t been a media entirely mobilised 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 nation that led the enemy to seize the opportunity,” Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said as he introduced a bill to increase government control of the news environment, referring...

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