Israel stands out from the Middle-East due to the fact that the country is the most liberal of the region. As said by Freedom House, Israel has had a healthy environment where citizens enjoyed freedom of press. They have a diverse selection of media outlets to choose from in consumption: broadcast, television, radio, satellite, internet, etc. And private-owned newspapers have the freedom to criticize their own government as well as investigate cases of corruption. Seems like Israel is one of the countries that are completely free, right? Not exactly…
There come times when conflicts with their next-door neighbors caused the Israeli government to bear down more control of the media flow to the audience. As a result, I believe that Israel’s media system is not absolute. How can it? For example, if you’re from the Palestinian region, as a journalist, then you have little chance to release stories out in your point-of-view, especially if it involves sensitive conflicts (ex. Israeli/Palestinian tensions, violence in the Gaza strip, etc). Furthermore, any media outlet that expresses such content in a positive light gets taken down by the military. Even though in the majority, press freedom is respected, it is not uncommon that media outlets become subject to military censorship and gag orders. Journalists and Israeli citizens have also faced travel restrictions on certain countries, particularly those that the government and military consider enemy states such as Lebanon and Syria.
Sure, Israel may have the best media freedom in the Middle East region. But, there have been cases where journalists have got in trouble with authorities, grant it, not as severe as other neighboring countries when it comes to this category. Even when you are more privileged to come work in Israel as a journalist, you still have to keep in mind which conflicts affect the government and potentially trigger an intervention. For example, journalists have been involved in legal battles in the past in attempt to protect their labor rights, interests and most importantly, their jobs. So it’s still risky one way or the other.
The justifications used for censorship, gag orders and other restrictions are usually for national security reasons under the 1996 Censorship Agreement. Most of what gets censored are sensitive information involving the military, government or even foreign sources. Google Maps, for example, is censored and telecommunications and internet service are under surveillance constantly for the sole purpose of national security. Fortunately, it seems as though while most of the problems journalists face in this country are legal battles, they are relatively safe from any acts of violence. In fact, it is actually rare for journalists to be harassed or physically attacked in Israel. There have been a few skirmishes though and most of them had been from Arab journalists (even local unfortunately).
As of today, Israel is considered a free state with a liberal media system. I will point out, however, there have been some tendencies by the government and military to step in and regulate the flow of media and what journalists and people alike can or can’t do. Part of that has to do with the country being surrounded by nations who have a hostile relationship with Israel. In a way, national security could perhaps be a justifiable concern. I would be worried about the possibilities of taking actions too far like censoring Arab or Palestinian journalists which could most definitely be looked at as discrimination. But that’s getting to a different topic.
Concerning the perceptions of others outside Israel, I don’t think it’s fair to keep information from the other side hidden from Israeli citizens. That only causes biased and uninformed citizens overall. At the same time, is there a better way the Israeli government can do to manage their problem in their current situation? Let me know what you think. Because of the location of Israel and the surrounding hostility of nearby Arab and Islamic nations, do you think that the Israeli government and military’s actions are justified for national security? If not, is there another way? Any other thoughts, opinions or disagreements are welcome.
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2014/israel#.VGVaxpUtC1t
