Israeli government imposes new sanctions on “Haaretz” newspaper, banned from advertising and contact with institutions

While attacks have multiplied against the Israeli daily Haaretz In recent months, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached a new level. The proposal by the Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi, intended to prohibit any contact between the opposition newspaper and state institutions, was adopted by the government this Sunday, November 24.

This decision is a reaction to “numerous editorials which have undermined the legitimacy of the State of Israel and its right to self-defense, and in particular the comments made in London by the editor of HaaretzAmos Schocken, who support terrorism and call for sanctions to be imposed on the government »affirms the Israeli government, cited in an article published on the website of Haaretz in reaction to this political choice.

Removal of government advertisements

The daily, one of the last ramparts against the fascistization of the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu and a rare dissonant voice while the colonization of the Palestinian territories is supported by part of the population, has already seen its advertising revenue collapse. On October 31, the Ministers of the Interior, Culture and Justice increased the sanctions: the first two decided to withdraw government advertisements from the columns of the newspaper and the third decided in favor of a bill to impose prison sentences on Israelis who advocate sanctions against the country or its leaders.

“The proposal was not on the government agenda published before the weekly cabinet meetingprotests the daily newspaper. The Attorney General’s Office, unaware of the intention to put the proposal to a vote, did not consider it at all and did not present its opinion, as usual. The resolution was presented to ministers during discussions without any legal advice. »

The numerous investigations of Haaretz which target Israeli power, combined with the international reach of voices like Gideon Levy, journalist and member of the newspaper’s management, has irritated the government for several years already. “A year ago, he [Shlomo Karhi] contacted Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs with a draft resolution to stop the Government Advertising Bureau’s publications in Haaretz and to end all subscriptions to the state officials’ newspaper, says the newspaper. Including those from the Israeli army, police, Israeli Prison Service, ministries and state-owned companies. »

Tensions took on a new level at the end of October when Haaretz editor Amos Schocken declared at a conference in London: “The Netanyahu government does not care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It minimizes the costs incurred by both sides in defending settlements while fighting Palestinian freedom fighters, whom Israel labels terrorists. »

According to the editorial staff of the center-left newspaper, the decision of the Israeli government “is another step in Netanyahu’s journey to dismantle Israeli democracy”. Haaretz does not hesitate to compare the methods of the Israeli prime minister with those of “his friends PoutineErdoğan et Orbán »while the latter “attempts to silence a critical and independent newspaper”. Far from giving in, the editorial staff of Haaretz announces his refusal to become only one “government pamphlet” and intends to continue its investigative work, even if it means attracting the wrath of the Israeli authorities.