Cabinet votes to shutter Army Radio, overriding legal and press freedom concerns |
The cabinet on Monday unanimously approved Defense Minister Israel Katz’s proposal to shut down the IDF-run Army Radio station, with broadcasts set to end by March 1, 2026, according to the minister’s office.
Speaking at the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the existence of a military-run broadcaster was highly unusual, remarking that “a military station broadcasting under the authority of the army… exists in North Korea and maybe a few other countries, and we certainly do not want to be counted among them.”
Netanyahu said he had been open for years to proposals to abolish or privatize the station, adding, “I believe in competition. So the time has come, and better sooner rather than later.”
Katz said the move was intended to correct a democratic “anomaly.”
“A situation in which a radio station intended for all citizens of the State of Israel is operated by the military is an anomaly that does not exist in democratic countries,” he told ministers. He argued that Army Radio’s political and current affairs programming “creates a fundamental difficulty for the IDF, stemming from the IDF’s involuntary involvement in political discourse,” and said the station’s content “harms the Israel Defense Forces, its soldiers and its unity.”
Katz asserted that “after October 7, these difficulties became even more acute.”
Following the cabinet vote, Katz ordered the IDF to immediately begin winding down the station’s operations. According to his office, he also instructed IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir to halt all selection and recruitment processes for Army Radio and to stop assigning soldiers to the unit, both in mandatory service and the reserves.
Preparations were also ordered to begin for ending the service of soldiers currently stationed at the broadcaster and gradually reassigning them to other IDF units, with priority given to combat and combat-support roles.
Katz further directed Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram to assist civilian IDF employees working at the station and to terminate their employment under arrangements that are “as appropriate as possible” and in accordance with the law. In parallel, he ordered the cancellation of all of the station’s contracts, including agreements with civilian journalists, as well as steps to end the station’s use of its facilities.
Katz said........