Army Radio staff claims civilian jobs frozen; Defense Ministry issues denial |
Army Radio employees said Wednesday that dozens of civilian radio show hosts at the IDF-run broadcaster and its sister music station Galgalatz were informed their employment would be frozen “as early as next week,” prompting a denial by the Defense Ministry.
The dispute comes two days after the cabinet unanimously approved Defense Minister Israel Katz’s controversial proposal to shut down Army Radio, with broadcasts set to end by March 1.
In a statement circulated by staff, the radio show hosts said the freezing of their employment amounted to the de facto dismantling of the station within days, as regular programming is not possible without them.
The Defense Ministry, however, denied the reports, saying it has issued no directive to terminate the employment of civilian workers at Army Radio. In a statement, the ministry said it is engaged in its routine annual process of extending contracts that expire at the end of December.
According to the ministry, the contracts will be extended through February 28, 2026 – the date set for the station’s closure.
Despite the denial, Channel 12 reported that a request for an interim injunction submitted to the High Court of Justice by the Army Radio workers committee includes a sworn affidavit from an employee at the station who says they did receive the directive.
According to the affidavit, the employee received a call telling them that “the Defense Ministry’s legal counsel gave an order to stop all communications with the consultants who are in the hiring........