Israel’s government approved on Sunday a proposal by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi that mandates any government-funded body refrain from communicating with Haaretz or placing advertisements in the paper. The proposal was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The decision, according to the government’s explanation, is a reaction to “many articles that have hurt the legitimacy of the state of Israel and its right to self defense, and particularly the remarks made in London by Haaretz publisher, Amos Schocken, that support terrorism and call for imposing sanctions on the government.”
The proposal did not appear on the government’s agenda published ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting. The Attorney General’s office, unaware of the intention to bring the proposal to a vote, did not review it at all and did not present its opinion, as customary. The resolution was presented to ministers during the discussion without any legal opinion.
In a speech at the Haaretz conference in London last month, Schocken said “the Netanyahu government doesn’t care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters, that Israel calls terrorists.”
The only democracy in the middle east…
And let’s not forget their “Western Values”.
Suppressing the press IS western values these days.
What? Isn’t Haaretz like the main media outlet in Israel?
One of them, and also the most left-leaning. The Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post lean right, and are generally supportive of Israel and its genocide.
Edit: I should also note that these are the English-language publications. They have others in Hebrew and other languages, but you don’t see them posted in English-language communities for obvious reasons.
Nope. It’s a prominent one, but by no means the “main” media outlet. It’s also largely in opposition to Netanyahu and his coalition.
As of July 31, 2023, a TGI survey indicated that Israel Hayom, distributed for free, is Israel’s most read newspaper, with a 29.4% weekday readership exposure, followed by Yedioth Ahronoth, with 22.3%, Haaretz with 4.8%, Globes with 4% and Maariv with 3.9%.[1]
Thank you for the states. Haaretz seems to the source most foreign media quote.
Good preview for what’s going to happen to the new York times under the new admin :)
First Al-Jazeera, now Haaretz. Freedom of the press going strong in the apartheid state.
Pulls advertising? Why would a government advertise in a news paper? Do they have new products coming next year?
There are legitimate uses like health information campaigns (vaccination campaigns, anti smoking campaigns) and other informatio campaigns.
Advertising is probably a misnaming.
The paper will still sell the spaces as advertising regardless of whether it’s an advert of a public announcement from the government, so advertising is probably right.
Next year, genocide v2.0.0! More efficient, more deadly and with twice the US support!
It’s called propaganda.
Common practice in many places. Not the government per se, but various state organizations to from healthcare to infrastructure to administration etc.
Israel has become the ultimate Karen
Hitler it a better name for such behaviour
Hitler was a single person but it was a country at the time that enabled and spread hate. I agree though we should call them Nazis.
The only democracy in the middle east
My respect for Haaretz suddenly increased, I didnt regularly read them so I didnt know tbh.
Anyone else feel like WWIII has already started?
To put it in context, we are seeing much of the same stuff in terms of media grabs and power grabs that was seen in the 1930s around the world. What is left is Hitler invading Poland.
Can Russia invading Ukraine and Israel invading Lebanon be enough.
“Best I can do is Russia invading Ukraine and Israel invading Lebanon.”
Humor aside (take it where you can), yes, I think that’s enough.
It feels like gallows humour.
I wonder where Haaretz will relocate to Meduza-style when it’s impossible to continue operating from within Israel.
The true and trustful information are hurting ,hey
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I mean… they’re both wrong.
Schocken said “the Netanyahu government doesn’t care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements
No lies detected.
while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters, that Israel calls terrorists.”
If Schocken is referring to Hamas, then he’s out of his mind. Freedom is the last thing Hamas wants for Gaza or Palestine.
Say it as many time as you want, history will call them freedom fighter.
When you live in area with no freedom of movement, no freedom of food options, no freedom of trades, and you fight, that it is a freedom fighter.
Your people called movement in South Africa terrorist, called Irish terrorists, called Indian terrorists, called natives terrorists. Called everyone challenge you or support them terrorists.
But at the end history called them freedom fighter.
Respectfully, I disagree. Hamas hasn’t allowed elections in the region since 2007. They are authoritarian, autocratic, Islamist statists with the sole goal of the elimination of Israel. They are not focused on improving the economy of Gaza, or granting freedom to the Gazan people.
That’s exactly why it’s been explicitly stated Likud policy to support them — conservative leadership in Israel wants to see the people of Gaza violently oppressed and stirred against Israel. An enemy on the border serves the conservative agenda.
A peaceful government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom & independence would not serve Israeli interests, which is why Netanyahu has worked so hard to keep Hamas in charge in Gaza.
A peaceful government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom & independence would not serve Israeli interests,
Not defending Hamas tyranny in Gaza, but this is a contradiction right there. A government dedicated to increasing Gazan freedom and independence would not be peaceful, because the only time an Israeli leader attempted to bring peace to the region they fucking killed him.
Gazan independence does not demand violence; it only demands a government that is willing to put down the sword and negotiate, so that Netanyahu and Likud are not emboldened to continually tighten the noose. At least, that’s what Netanyahu believes – that a violent oppressor in Gaza is crucial to the success of Likud.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/20/benjamin-netanyahu-hamas-israel-prime-minister
Prime minister for most of the last 15 years, Netanyahu has been an enabler of Hamas, building up the organisation, letting it rule Gaza unhindered – save for brief, periodic military operations against it – and allowing funds from its Gulf patrons to keep it flush. Netanyahu liked the idea of the Palestinians as a house divided – Fatah in the West Bank, Hamas in Gaza – because it allowed him to insist that there was no Palestinian partner he could do business with. That meant no peace process, no prospect of a Palestinian state, and no demand for Israeli territorial concessions.
None of this was a secret. In March 2019, Netanyahu told his Likud colleagues: “Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas … This is part of our strategy – to isolate the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank.”
Gazan independence does not demand violence; it only demands a government that is willing to put down the sword and negotiate,
Like the PA did until 2000 (and since 2006, but you get the idea)? Like Hamas tried to do in 2008 and 2012? Both generally and in this conflict, that’s just not how that works. Again, there was only one guy who tried to seriously negotiate and they fucking killed him.
Ah yes, if we just let the authoritarian do whatever he wants he will stop killing us. How very Chamberlain of you. How very Appeasement.
I never said that. I said that Hamas doesn’t particularly care about freedom or independence in Gaza, and I stand by that.
Hamas will feed every Palestinian man, woman, and child into the Israeli war machine, if they believe that it will deprive Israel of a hectare of territory. Pushing Israel into the sea is their primary goal. That’s their priority. And their aggression will insure that the war machine operates at full capacity, and that it continues to receive the active support of the international community.
Personally, I think the Palestine cause is just. Unfortunately, I think it’s also futile. The hard line against Israel is gonna get a lot more people killed, with no positive result for Palestinians. At this point, the best hope for the future of the region is an independent state solution.
Why should they? Israel showed they’re going to materially interfere in the elections anyways.
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I 100% support Palestinian statehood but to deny that Hamas are terrorists is absurd. A true “freedom fighter” would attack only government and military targets and would never condone killing 500+ civilians at a music festival. Do you believe that’s acceptable?
Hamas targets were military targets. More than 33% killed were active IDF soldiers.
The music festival next to a military base was not even supposed to be there. And there were many armed IDF soldiers at the festival (human shields anyone?)
If Hamas wanted civilian casualties they would have pushed into Israeli cities instead of raiding the heavily guarded military bases around the Gaza envelope.
For a more detailed explanation, an Israeli person made this great video https://youtu.be/Pt_1k7nSv1M
Hamas targets were military targets. More than 33% killed were active IDF soldiers.
“Only two-thirds of the people killed were civilians!” is quite the defense. Impressive.
The US had a civilian casualty rate of 12/13 in Iraq.
The IDF with 70% women and children killed would have a higher civilian casualty rate than Hamas even if literally every single man they killed was an active duty Hamas fighter.
OK, and? You’re seriously trying to defend 66% civilian casualties because 70%+ is worse?
Now compare that to the IDF…
I am. Killing civilians is bad, and I don’t care who does it. Only on Lemmy do we see galaxy-brains decrying Palestinian deaths while brushing off 66% civilian casualties on the Israeli side.
They planned to and did attack plenty of kibbutzes, slaughtering and kidnapping all civilian inhabitants they could
Their plans were clearly to capture and ransom them. Even Israeli witnesses testify to that, as well as to the fact that the IDF did the vast majority of damage.
You can find reports from journalists that saw were shown security and bodycam footage, that describe something very different. Freedom fighters taking lots of joy in killing civilians, young and old
But I know the story on Hexbear that those were all just Mossad plants
edit: here
A few more recent sources, including some Israeli ones:
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231021-israel-settler-israel-forces-killed-hostages-not-hamas/
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rTQcjyhPOIk
All that may be true, but when the plan went to shit, they still attacked, killed, and took hostage many civilians.
I recommend watching the video I linked to get a better understanding of what really happened.
The Anc in south Africa was responsible of killing civilians, same with many resistance groups like the mau mau in kanya, the fln in algeria and Nana Sahib soldiers in India. Nate Turner also killed women and children’s of slave owners. Commiting some act of terror doesn’t strip those groups and people from being freedom fighters. You support a state for Palestinians while opposing the people who are currently fighting the IDF because the West is doing nothing to stop it
The Anc in south Africa was responsible of killing civilians
And how did that conflict end?
Did the ANC push all the white people into the sea?
It ended with truth and reconciliation. It ended with the ANC committed to peaceful transition.
I see zero indication that Hamas will lead Gaza in that direction. They are the polar opposite, becoming more militant and extreme over time, not less.
Who told you that we want to push Jews into the sea? Actually it’s Israel who is trying to expell Palestinians once again from their land.
Hamas said that they would drop their arms once Palestinians get a state. If they are lying trust me Palestinians will go against them. Of course they going to get more extreme everytime Israel keep extending illegal settlement and maintain the blockade
It’s in the Hamas charter. The organization is literally founded on the ideal that killing all Jews is commanded by Islam:
… the Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to the realisation of Allah’s promise, no matter how long that should take. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said: The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.
Can you also condemn Natanyaho use of the amaleks comparison? In the verse about amaleks it was asked for Israelites to kill everybody including infants and animals
Yes Hamas is extreme and all the leaders should be held accountable once Palestinians are free. It doesn’t change the fact that Israel is an occupying force and are currently killing Palestinians regardless if they are Hamas or not and Hamas and other groups are fighting the soldiers who commit those crimes. Unlike you are I don’t support some crimes and defend other crimes
Then why aren’t you calling Israel and the IDF terrorists?
To get out of this whole mess, this is a textbook no true Scotsman argument. The IRA were freedom fighters and also notorious for killing civilians (car bombs anyone?).
Nah, “freedom fighters” do that shit all the time and “no true freedom fighter” is a fallacy. For example, there are huge political rifts between Poland and Ukraine because of “freedom fighters” on both sides committing massacres, assassinations etc. What one side calls heroes, the other calls terrorists. Same thing for freedom fighters in occupied France, Poland.
Edit: also fuck Hamas those terrorist pieces of dung.
If you had grown up in the open air prison camp called Gaza, and wanted to fight for your country, you too would have joined Hamas or one of the smaller militant organizations (PFLP and the like). Think of the average US election discourse: you don’t vote whomever, you vote for who’s on the ballot, least evil and so on. Same logic applies: when your family is repeatedly traumatized and your country is occupied, you don’t join whatever organization western liberals imagine, you pick one of the existing ones and join the fight. Simple as.
Broadly I agree with you that, inasmuch as Hamas enjoys popular support, it is for exactly that reason.
But, that does not mean Hamas is fighting for the freedom and independence of Gaza. They are fighting to push Israel into the sea, and any means to that end is acceptable to them, including putting Gazans in terrible risk.
Any popular movement will never be monolithic. By it’s very nature as a popular movement it will contain all sorts. From fanatics and hardliners to opportunists, to idealists, to moderates, to people who had no other choice. So saying “Hamas is fighting for this or that” as if “this or that” is an immutable non-negotiable goal set in stone is ignoring the realities of armed struggle. If anyone is interested in peace, they would need to either completely annihilate Hamas, like Isis was, which the last year has shown is impossible, or more realistically to try to play on the internal dynamics of the factions, hoping to strengthen those that can make peace. For example, Marwan Bargouthi is ex-Fatah, but has worked with Hamas and the PFLP, and is more of a moderate than Sinwar ever was. If Israel was to release him, he could use his fighter credibility to push for peace.
Agreed. Hamas and Israel are locked in a death struggle – the existence of Hamas depends on a “river Jordan to the sea” hard line position on the extermination of Israel, and Hamas’ existence fuels Israeli conservative support for apartheid.
Which is why I think anybody characterizing Hamas as “freedom fighters” is disingenuous. Fighters, certainly, but not for freedom.
Israeli support for apartheid is not dependent on Hamas. Proof: the West Bank.
Sure they just want to die fighting the IDF just so the IDF kill Palestinians while none of our countries does anything to stop this genocide
