Israel’s government approved on Sunday a proposal by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi that mandates any government-funded body refrain from communicating with Haaretz or placing advertisements in the paper. The proposal was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The decision, according to the government’s explanation, is a reaction to “many articles that have hurt the legitimacy of the state of Israel and its right to self defense, and particularly the remarks made in London by Haaretz publisher, Amos Schocken, that support terrorism and call for imposing sanctions on the government.”

The proposal did not appear on the government’s agenda published ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting. The Attorney General’s office, unaware of the intention to bring the proposal to a vote, did not review it at all and did not present its opinion, as customary. The resolution was presented to ministers during the discussion without any legal opinion.

In a speech at the Haaretz conference in London last month, Schocken said “the Netanyahu government doesn’t care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters, that Israel calls terrorists.”

  • acargitz
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    82 hours ago

    First Al-Jazeera, now Haaretz. Freedom of the press going strong in the apartheid state.

  • @[email protected]
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    7 hours ago

    Pulls advertising? Why would a government advertise in a news paper? Do they have new products coming next year?

    • acargitz
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      32 hours ago

      Common practice in many places. Not the government per se, but various state organizations to from healthcare to infrastructure to administration etc.

    • Jack
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      42 hours ago

      Next year, genocide v2.0.0! More efficient, more deadly and with twice the US support!

    • azuth
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      74 hours ago

      There are legitimate uses like health information campaigns (vaccination campaigns, anti smoking campaigns) and other informatio campaigns.

      Advertising is probably a misnaming.

      • @[email protected]
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        34 hours ago

        The paper will still sell the spaces as advertising regardless of whether it’s an advert of a public announcement from the government, so advertising is probably right.

    • @SkunkWorkz
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      45 hours ago

      It’s called propaganda.

    • @[email protected]
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      16 hours ago

      One of them, and also the most left-leaning. The Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post lean right, and are generally supportive of Israel and its genocide.

      Edit: I should also note that these are the English-language publications. They have others in Hebrew and other languages, but you don’t see them posted in English-language communities for obvious reasons.

    • @[email protected]
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      17 hours ago

      Nope. It’s a prominent one, but by no means the “main” media outlet. It’s also largely in opposition to Netanyahu and his coalition.

      Source:

      As of July 31, 2023, a TGI survey indicated that Israel Hayom, distributed for free, is Israel’s most read newspaper, with a 29.4% weekday readership exposure, followed by Yedioth Ahronoth, with 22.3%, Haaretz with 4.8%, Globes with 4% and Maariv with 3.9%.[1]

  • John Richard
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    3419 hours ago

    Israel has become the ultimate Karen

    • @Doorbook
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      2917 hours ago

      Hitler it a better name for such behaviour

  • @small44
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    1717 hours ago

    The only democracy in the middle east

  • @[email protected]
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    718 hours ago

    I wonder where Haaretz will relocate to Meduza-style when it’s impossible to continue operating from within Israel.

  • RickRussell_CA
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    -2318 hours ago

    I mean… they’re both wrong.

    Schocken said “the Netanyahu government doesn’t care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements

    No lies detected.

    while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters, that Israel calls terrorists.”

    If Schocken is referring to Hamas, then he’s out of his mind. Freedom is the last thing Hamas wants for Gaza or Palestine.

    • acargitz
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      62 hours ago

      If you had grown up in the open air prison camp called Gaza, and wanted to fight for your country, you too would have joined Hamas or one of the smaller militant organizations (PFLP and the like). Think of the average US election discourse: you don’t vote whomever, you vote for who’s on the ballot, least evil and so on. Same logic applies: when your family is repeatedly traumatized and your country is occupied, you don’t join whatever organization western liberals imagine, you pick one of the existing ones and join the fight. Simple as.

    • @Doorbook
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      3317 hours ago

      Say it as many time as you want, history will call them freedom fighter.

      When you live in area with no freedom of movement, no freedom of food options, no freedom of trades, and you fight, that it is a freedom fighter.

      Your people called movement in South Africa terrorist, called Irish terrorists, called Indian terrorists, called natives terrorists. Called everyone challenge you or support them terrorists.

      But at the end history called them freedom fighter.

      • RickRussell_CA
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        08 hours ago

        Respectfully, I disagree. Hamas hasn’t allowed elections in the region since 2007. They are authoritarian, autocratic, Islamist statists with the sole goal of the elimination of Israel. They are not focused on improving the economy of Gaza, or granting freedom to the Gazan people.

        That’s exactly why it’s been explicitly stated Likud policy to support them — conservative leadership in Israel wants to see the people of Gaza violently oppressed and stirred against Israel. An enemy on the border serves the conservative agenda.

        A peaceful government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom & independence would not serve Israeli interests, which is why Netanyahu has worked so hard to keep Hamas in charge in Gaza.

        • NoneOfUrBusiness
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          114 minutes ago

          A peaceful government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom & independence would not serve Israeli interests,

          Not defending Hamas tyranny in Gaza, but this is a contradiction right there. A government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom and independence would not be peaceful, because the only time an Israeli leader attempted to bring peace to the region they fucking killed him.

      • @[email protected]
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        -2317 hours ago

        I 100% support Palestinian statehood but to deny that Hamas are terrorists is absurd. A true “freedom fighter” would attack only government and military targets and would never condone killing 500+ civilians at a music festival. Do you believe that’s acceptable?

    • @small44
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      -117 hours ago

      Sure they just want to die fighting the IDF just so the IDF kill Palestinians while none of our countries does anything to stop this genocide