The upcoming media reforms and the potential closure of local radio stations and television channels – both public and commercial – spearheaded by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and fellow government members are characterized by industry veterans as a direct assault on Israel’s democratic foundations, with critics warning that the moves echo illiberal models found in countries like Hungary and Turkey.
The Jerusalem Report spoke to leading journalists in Israel’s media landscape to understand what it is that makes this case of reforms so contentious and different from past proposals – and what it is they fear most.
The ‘ninth front’
While the government frames the legislation as meant to loosen “the Left’s monopoly over shaping public consciousness” and return power to consumers through competition and reduced regulation, Israeli journalists we spoke to feel that the true objective is to silence criticism and dismantle independent watchdogs.
The “Karhi reform” targets commercial television channels by removing the legal barrier that currently prevents media owners and political appointees from interfering in editorial decisions, changing ethics regulations, and stripping away the structural separation designed to protect independent newsrooms from the commercial part of their outlets.
Iconic institutions such as the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) and Army Radio face potential closure or severe restructuring. The conflict has evolved into what some are terming an “additional war” for Israel as it continues to battle numerous militaristic fronts. They also say it is a fight to ensure that the media retains its independence.
A media ‘petting zoo’
Aryeh Golan, one of Israel’s most distinguished radio broadcasters, voiced his alarm over the government’s proposals for media overhaul. Golan has hosted the flagship morning news program on public radio since 1995 and is famously known for announcing the start of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
In a candid conversation with the Report, he explained that while previous governments had threatened to shut down outlets such as Army Radio, “this time it’s serious.”
He said that the “heart of the matter” is a government that “doesn’t want to hear criticism,” seeking to instead reduce the media landscape to a “petting zoo” of supportive voices.
Golan, who has covered all of Israel’s major events for decades, brings up historical context: “I remember the late [prime minister] Menachem Begin… He once said about the Haaretz newspaper that the only government it ever supported was the [British] Mandate… but he never said he was going to close Haaretz. He had no such intentions. Today, they are going for it. This is a different Likud party; these are different ministers, different members of Knesset, and they are serious about this.”
Media diversity
Golan rejected the government’s claim that the media lacks diversity. He pointed out leading right-wing journalists already on air for different outlets and praised their work. And he maintained that the reforms are not about expanding choice but about silencing dissent and dismantling the “Chinese wall” that currently protects news broadcasting from political interference.
“If you close a military broadcasting station like Army Radio, then there will be less variety of channels. If you aim to close Israel’s Public Broadcasting Corporation, you are reducing the variety of opinions and the variety of channels. And that is how you arrive not at a variety of opinions but at a reduction of opinions toward one direction only,” Golan said.
Although opposition to the government’s media reforms is often portrayed as the Left’s position, criticism has also been expressed by journalists who firmly identify with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government or the broader right wing.
Yaakov Bardugo, a prominent political commentator on the more conservative Channel 14 news and Galei Israel Radio, has been surprisingly critical of Karhi’s proposed legislation. Bardugo warned on his program that the changes would “crush right-wing media.”
Karhi responded directly to his claims by dismissing him as “neither right wing nor reliable.” He characterized Bardugo as a “bitter politician” who is harming the right-wing movement due to personal interests.
The common denominator
Udi Segal, a prominent Israeli journalist who anchors the main news broadcast on Channel 13, also expressed deep concern about the proposed changes.
A veteran journalist with a career spanning 35 years, he described the current period of both external war and internal social fracture as perhaps the most difficult in the country’s history and used the analogy from quantum physics to describe a state where “sometimes chaos is the goal.”
Segal suggested that for some politicians, the goal is not a functional media market with a wide variety but rather the “clash” itself. This, he said, serves to create headlines and rally their political base, resulting in the return to an “us vs. them” mentality. Such an approach erodes the “common denominator,” he said, which is the glue that allows Israeli society to contain opposing views of religious vs. secular, right wing vs. left wing.
The flip test
“Every system can benefit from reform,” Segal said. “The question is the intent of those initiating it and how they go about it.”
He suggested there be a simple test to assess the legitimacy of Karhi’s proposed reforms.
“If the government changed tomorrow to someone Karhi completely distrusts, would he want a government to have that much power over the media? The answer is obviously ‘no,’” said Segal, noting that modern populist politics often ignores long-term danger in favor of immediate political gain.
Israeli spirit
Despite warning about the “recklessness and negligence” of the government’s moves against the media, Segal said he is an “incurable optimist” who believes in the unique “Israeli and Jewish spirit.”
“I believe that spirit will win,” he said, adding that he hopes the Israeli public will ultimately reject any measures that might limit freedom of expression.
Haim Har-Zahav, chairman of the Union of Journalists in Israel and longtime journalist, described the current climate as a “wide-scale attack,” with the government using a “shock and awe” tactic to force the press into submission.
He said that the proposed reforms were far more than a mere policy shift – rather, they are a government-driven effort to “silence and shut mouths” by dismantling the very ethics that sustain public trust.
Like Golan and Segal, Har-Zahav expressed particular concern over the removal of the legal mechanisms that prevent media owners from interfering in news content, warning that if commercial interests are allowed to dictate the headlines, “there will no longer be any significance to truth, facts, or the distinction between opinion and reporting.”
He likened the deregulation push to “canceling seatbelts because people still die in car crashes.” He warned that without independent media oversight of the government, the public will be left in a state of “permanent paranoia,” unable to trust any source of information because journalistic ethics will become “null and void.”
All three journalists who spoke to the Report emphasized that the issue reaches far beyond newsroom politics, as this impacts the public’s ability to access independent information.
Yet, while their concerns run deep, all three felt confident about the resilience of Israel’s democratic culture. They have faith in all media sectors standing together to protect press freedom and uphold the public’s right to know the truth.■