Double threat: The free press in Israel will not die in one day

Violence against media outlets and journalists has become a common occurrence. Declarations by politicians from the right and the left about their intention to close media outlets are routine. Legislation that drastically affects the Israeli media was passed just recently in the Knesset. All these create a double threat to the free press: de facto silencing, and alongside it, self-censorship by media outlets and journalists. If this drift is not stopped, we will find ourselves in a country that is "democratic" in name only.

A free press, especially during election periods, is the core of democracy. Without it, it is impossible to criticize the government and present alternatives to the policies promoted by the government. Although it is clear that freedom of expression is a protected constitutional value in Israel, to this day the source of its protection is the ruling of the Supreme Court. It still has no anchoring in the Basic Laws.

In this reality, the free press is in a state of structural weakness. And we are deteriorating. The index of "Reporters Without Borders," an international organization that measures press freedom, ranked Israel in 116th place in 2025 — somewhere between Lebanon and Tanzania.

The attack on the media in Israel is not new, but it seems to be intensifying. What makes it dangerous is the convergence of three vectors that together could lead to damage to the media's ability to fulfill its democratic mission. The first is the politicians' verbal abuse of media outlets. Our ears are already deaf to this, but epithets like "enemy of the people," "Al Jazeera 12," or "poison channels" have become routine in the statements of politicians against broadcasting outlets in Israel. To these are added calls by politicians, even those who call themselves "democrats" like the leader of the Yesh Atid party Yair Golan, to censor media channels that are not pleasing to their ears, such as Channel 14, which Golan declared he would close if he came to power.

Violence that has become routine

We live in an almost routine of violence against the media. Just in the last few days, the offices of Channel 12 were attacked again. The editorial office of the "Haaretz" newspaper in Tel Aviv was also attacked for the umpteenth time. Attacks against journalists while they are doing their jobs are also recurring. Thus, Channel 14 reporters have been attacked several times recently when they covered events that took place in "left-wing strongholds."

Attacks on reporters, almost indiscriminately, also occur in the West Bank, where "hilltop youth" direct their anger at the media as well, and at ultra-Orthodox demonstrations, where violence against media crews is almost part of the protest protocol.

Joining these is the danger of structural harassment of the media by the government. The law promoted by Communications Minister Karhi, and which was passed in the Knesset last week, is an example of this. Under the guise of promoting competition in the media market, the law turned the council that is supposed to supervise the media into a political one. It is clear to everyone that political control over the body that determines the regulation of the media and supervises its enforcement is a clear and immediate danger to the freedom of expression of the media outlets supervised by it.

In view of these, the obvious risk is to the very ability of the media to operate freely and fulfill its democratic role. But a hidden risk, immeasurable but no less significant, is that of self-censorship and self-imposed limitations on activity.

The risk in journalistic coverage

In a reality where covering a demonstration can end in injury, criticism of the IDF in the throwing of stones at media offices, and criticism against government policy can end in restrictions on media outlets — every reporter or journalist might ask themselves if it is right to take the risk. The risk of going out into the field and covering. The risk of exposing the truth and risking regulatory, political, or even physical attacks.

The free press in Israel will not die in one day, but it might fade and censor itself in a way that will eventually hurt all sides of the political system. Until it leads to the decline of Israeli democracy as we know it.

Dr. Shuki Friedman is the CEO of JPPI, the Jewish People Policy Institute, and a lecturer in law at the Peres Academic Center.