There are over ten different languages in the Israeli media,[1] with Hebrew as the predominant one. Press in Arabic caters to the Arab citizens of Israel, with readers from areas including those governed by the Palestinian National Authority. During the eighties and nineties, the Israeli press underwent a process of significant change as the media gradually came to be controlled by a limited number of organizations, whereas the papers published by political parties began to disappear. Today, three large, privately owned conglomerates based in Tel Aviv dominate the mass media in Israel.[2]
Censorship in Israel is exercised when it is certain that publication of the item in question would harm public safety. When an item is censored, the newspaper may appeal the censor's ruling to a "committee of three," composed of a member of the public (who serves as the chairman), a representative of the army and a representative of the press. The decisions of the committee are binding, and over the years it has in many cases overruled the decision of the censor.[2]
An analysis of the press of Palestine under the British Mandate in 1949 states: "Palestine was a special case in journalism. No other area with a population of two million, of whom at least 30 percent are illiterate, could boast of 18 morning dailies, three evening papers, and a host of weeklies, bi-weeklies and monthlies."[5]
In 1952, the International Publishing Company J-M Ltd was established as the state's first book publisher.[6] Censorship was regularly enforced in years after independence, throughout the Yom Kippur War and the 1970s.[6] In 1986, the government allowed for the establishment of private and commercial media outlets to run in competition with state media.[6]
In 2012, Reuters correspondent Tova Cohen described Israeli society as "news-obsessed."[7] Israel has a high newspaper readership rate, due to a combination of high literacy rate and a cultural interest in politics and current affairs. Average weekday readership of newspapers in Israel is around 21 papers per 100 people, although many Israelis end up reading more than one paper.
Newspapers
Newspapers in Israel are mostly in Hebrew, but there are also newspapers catering to Arabic speakers, and newspapers catering to immigrants speaking a variety of languages, such as Russian, English and French. In 2022, a TGI survey indicated that Israel Hayom, distributed for free, is Israel's most read newspaper, with a 31% weekday readership exposure, followed by Yedioth Ahronoth, with 23.9%, Haaretz with 4.7%, and Maariv with 3.5%.[8]
The Israeli government generally respects freedom of the press, which is protected by the Basic Laws of Israel and independent judiciary.[9] Hate speech, and publishing praise of violence or issues of national security is prohibited.[9] While Israeli journalists operate with little restrictiction, Reporters Without Borders alleges that the authorities enter Palestinian offices and homes looking for "illegal material".[full citation needed][10] Some argue that freedom of press is restricted for Palestinians.[11]
Publication of a newspaper in Israel requires a permit from the government, which continues to implement the Press Ordinance enacted by the Mandatory Government in 1933.[12] Permits can be refused if the proprietor is less than 25 years old or has a criminal record.[12][13] An investigation by Haaretz early in 2016 revealed that in the preceding decade at least 62 out of more than 500 permit applications had been rejected.[12] Other regulations, including the 1945 Defence (Emergency) Regulations, can also be used to regulate newspaper publication.[12]
According to information provided by the military censor in response to a Freedom of Information request, in 2017 the censor banned the publication of 271 articles outright, and fully or partially redacted 21% of the articles submitted to it.[14]
Following the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis Israel took steps to ban Qatar-based Al Jazeera by closing its Jerusalem office, revoking press cards, and asking cable and satellite broadcasters not to broadcast al-Jazeera. Defence minister, Avigdor Lieberman, had described some of al-Jazeera reports as "Nazi Germany-style" propaganda. It was not clear if the measures covered Al Jazeera English, considered less strident.[15]
Under Israeli law, it is forbidden to proselytize to a person under 18 without the consent of a parent. It is also forbidden to offer material benefits in the process of proselytizing.[16][17]
On 24 November 2024, Israel's government ordered a boycott of the newspaper Haaretz by government officials and anyone working for a government-funded body, and banned government advertising with the newspaper.[18] According to The Guardian, Haaretz "had published a series of investigations of wrongdoing or abuses by senior officials and the armed forces, and has long been in the crosshairs of the current government."[18]
Freedom House
Freedom House publishes an annual Freedom of the Press report. The 2013 report described Israel as having "the freest press in the region" but downgraded its status from "Free" to "Partly Free" in response to "the indictment of journalist Uri Blau for possession of state secrets, the first time this law had been used against the press in several decades, as well as instances of politicized interference with the content of the Israel Broadcasting Authority radio programs and concerns surrounding the license renewal of television's Channel 10."[19] The 2023 Freedom in the World report gave Israel a 3 out of 4 report for Freedom of Expression.[20] The report stated that though the media is generally free to criticize the government, print articles remain subject to censorship by the military, and that right-ward leaning trends under the Netanyahu administration further threatened public faith in the press.[20]
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Israel has detained Palestinian reporters without trial. According to a report issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in January 2023, Israel became one of the “worst jailers of journalists,” putting it on par with Iran.[33]
According to a report in Middle East Eye in March 2025, 208 Palestinian journalists have killed since October 2023.[34] Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat was reportedly targeted in his vehicle in Salah al-Din Street, north of the Gaza enclave. On October 2024, Shabat said the Israeli army had falsely accused him of terrorism. Shabat told the Committee to Protect Journalists: “We convey the truth and move within the areas classified by Israel as safe…We are citizens, and we convey their voices." CPJ called upon Israel to stop making unsubstantiated allegations.[35]
Many Palestinian press workers claim they are targeted and harassed while carrying out their work in Israel. One reporter says eight of his family members were killed since he began covering the war.[36] Many journalists complain that they have no safe place to do their jobs as they live in tents and work from makeshift offices in hospitals, where they can access power.
Since October 2023, the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip has “killed more journalists than the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War (including the conflicts in Cambodia and Laos), the wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s and 2000s, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan, combined”.[37]
+972: A blog-based web magazine in English, with a Hebrew companion Mekomit[he] providing on-the-ground reporting and analysis of events in Israel and Palestine.
↑ Prof. Sam Lehman-Wilzig; Amit Schejter (1994). "Israel". In Yahya Kamalipour; Hamid Mowlana (eds.). Mass Media in the Middle East(PDF). Greenwood. pp.111–114. ISBN978-0-313-28535-6. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
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