Freedom of the press – that’s a thing of the past in Israel. This is the report of several journalists working in the country. Their work is accompanied by smear campaigns, hatred, and even death threats.

 “Dissenting voices are to be silenced.” Reporters Without Borders has been leveling this accusation against the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for months. The prime minister strikes a similar tone to US President Donald Trump when speaking to journalists.

At a press conference, Netanyahu confronted a female journalist, saying: “You spread these lies all the time. Now listen to me. Listen to me. This is the truth, but you spread this lie every single day.”

Reporter reports on government smear campaign

Guy Peleg, an Israeli television reporter who exposed the Sde Teiman prison camp scandal, is particularly targeted. “The ruling party, Likud, has been waging a campaign against me, comparing me and my friend Amnon Abramovich to Nasrallah and Khamenei – the ‘modern Nazis.’ That’s how they described Netanyahu,” Peleg said.

The journalist had published the video on Channel 12, which shows the alleged mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners in a detention camp. It also serves as evidence for allegations that prisoners were raped there.

Threatening messages and death threats

And since then, the hostility has increased, with threats of violence becoming commonplace, Peleg reported in his radio show on station 103fm:

Peleg sees these threats not only as hate messages from political dissidents, but as the result of a political campaign fueled by the government.

Minister Ben-Eliahu: Media not a “protected species”

The Israeli government has nothing but scorn for such accusations. Amichai Ben-Eliahu, the minister responsible for cultural heritage, told the state broadcaster Kan that Peleg should stop whining. He would simply be harassed. “The media shouldn’t think they are a specially protected species in the State of Israel. Anyone who incites hatred and participates in violating public order will have to pay the price. Wherever he goes, the word ‘shame’ should be written on his forehead,” Ben-Eliahu said.

There are further examples of Israel’s government attempting to control or even silence the media. Government agencies are officially prohibited from cooperating with Haaretz, the country’s most important left-liberal voice.

Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi accuses the Israeli media as a whole of acting in concert and blocking political projects of the right wing and the national-religious camp. He claims they are therefore partly responsible for the Hamas terrorist attack in October 2023. He said this in parliament in early November:

The government intends to take action: Defense Minister Israel Katz plans to close Army Radio, one of the most listened-to radio stations in Israel. The reason given is its sometimes critical political reporting. Katz stated that Army Radio should not express opinions. The government also intends to cut the budget of the state television broadcaster KAN and ultimately privatize it – a move that will likely lead to its closure.

Not only because of these increasing attacks by the government, but also because of them, Reporters Without Borders now ranks Israel in the lower half of its press freedom ranking , in the unflattering position of 111 out of 180. Even behind countries like Chad, South Sudan or Haiti.