Taken from Courrier international. Photo caption: A woman reading the English-language edition of the Israeli daily Ha’Aretz, in Jerusalem in 2013. Photo: Ahmed Gharabli/AFP.
The Israeli government approved a decision on November 24 prohibiting government officials and organizations from having contact with the daily Ha’Aretz and placing advertisements there.
An attempt to “silence a critical and independent newspaper”, warns Ha’Aretz, very hostile to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet, considered the most right-wing in the history of the Hebrew state.
The government justifies its decision, adopted in the Council of Ministers on the basis of a proposal from the Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi, by the “numerous editorials which have undermined the legitimacy of the State of Israel and its right to self-defense,” explains the executive.
“Freedom fighters”
A reaction, above all, to comments made by the editor of Ha’Aretz, Amos Schoken, which, according to him, “support terrorism and call for imposing sanctions on the government”. During a conference in London on October 27, Schoken notably declared that the Netanyahu government was fighting against “Palestinian freedom fighters, whom Israel describes as terrorists”.
These comments sparked an outcry, with some seeing it as legitimizing Hamas and the October 7 attacks. Enough to push the editor of Ha’Aretz to clarify them by explaining that he was talking about the Palestinians of the West Bank, and by affirming that “the use of terror is not legitimate. As for Hamas, it is not a freedom fighter.”
Even after this clarification, the newspaper published an editorial on November 4 to distance itself a little from these comments.
“’Ha’Aretz’ will not back down”
The newspaper reacted to the decision of the Netanyahu government, not included on the agenda and taken “without any legal control”.
“The opportunist resolution to boycott Ha’Aretz […] marks a new step in Netanyahu’s journey toward dismantling Israeli democracy. Like his friends Putin, Erdogan and Orban, Netanyahu is trying to silence a critical and independent newspaper.”
And to assure: “Ha’Aretz will not retreat and will not transform into a government leaflet publishing messages approved by the government and its leader.”
Founded in 1919, this newspaper, which is the oldest existing Israeli daily, has long been in the crosshairs of the government.
Ha’Aretz has published numerous investigations into the abuses of the war in Gaza, and has positioned itself in favor of a ceasefire for the release of the last hostages still held in the Palestinian enclave.
And for several weeks, he has been particularly following the cases of declassified documents involving Benyamin Netanyahu’s very close entourage.
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