The mass media in Israel refers to print,

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

and

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

available in the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The country boasts dozens of newspapers, magazines, and radio stations, which play an important role by the press in political, social and cultural life and cater it to a modern, developed and literate society. There are over 10 different languages in the Israeli media, with

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

as the predominant one. Press in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

caters to the

Arab citizens of Israel The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

, with readers from areas including those governed by the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

. During the eighties and nineties, the Israeli press underwent a process of significant change as the media gradually came to be controlled by a limited number of organizations, whereas the papers published by political parties began to disappear. Today, three large, privately owned conglomerates based in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

dominate the mass media in Israel.

Censorship in Israel __NOTOC__ Censorship in Israel is officially carried out by the Israeli Military Censor, a unit in the Israeli government officially tasked with carrying out preventive censorship regarding the publication of information that might affect the sec ...

is relatively low compared to other countries, but may be exercised only when it is certain that publication of the item in question would harm public safety. When an item is censored, the newspaper may appeal the censor's ruling to a "committee of three," composed of a member of the public (who serves as the chairman), a representative of the army and a representative of the press. The decisions of the committee are binding, and over the years it has in many cases overruled the decision of the censor.

History

The history of the press began in 1863, before Israeli independence and during the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, with ''Ha-Levanon'' and '' Havatzelet'' being the first weekly Hebrew newspapers established. In 1952, the International Publishing Company J-M Ltd was established as the state's first book publisher. Censorship was regularly enforced in years after independence, throughout the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

and the 1970s. In 1986, the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

allowed for the establishment of private and commercial media outlets to run in competition with state media.

Freedom of the press

The Israeli government generally respects

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

, which is protected by the

Basic Laws of Israel The Basic Laws of Israel ( he, , Ḥukey HaYesod) are thirteen constitutional laws of the State of Israel, and some of them can only be changed by a supermajority vote in the Knesset (with varying requirements for different Basic Laws and section ...

and independent judiciary.Israel Press Freedom
''

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...

''. Hate speech, and publishing praise of violence or issues of national security is prohibited. While Israeli journalists operate with little restriction, the government has placed more restrictions on Palestinian journalists working in the region, as

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

alleges that the authorities entered Palestinian offices and homes looking for "illegal material". The media does carry criticism of government policy. Publication of a newspaper in Israel is illegal without a permit from the government, which continues to implement the Press Ordinance enacted by the Mandatory Government in 1933. Permits can be refused for a variety of reasons, including that the proprietor is less than 25 years old or has a criminal record or insufficient education. An investigation by ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'' early in 2016 revealed that in the preceding decade at least 62 out of more than 500 permit applications had been rejected. Other regulations, including the 1945

Defence (Emergency) Regulations The Defence (Emergency) Regulations are an expansive set of regulations first promulgated by the British authorities in Mandatory Palestine in 1945. Along with the entire body of Mandate legislation, they were incorporated into Israel's domestic ...

, can also be used to regulate newspaper publication. According to information provided by the military censor in response to a Freedom of Information request, in 2017 the censor banned the publication of 271 articles outright, and fully or partially redacted 21% of the articles submitted to it. Following the

2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis The Qatar diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic incident in the Middle East that began on 5 June 2017 when Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia#Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Qatar–United Arab Emirates relations, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain–Qatar relat ...

Israel took steps to ban Qatar-based

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

by closing its Jerusalem office, revoking press cards, and asking cable and satellite broadcasters not to broadcast al-Jazeera. Defence minister,

Avigdor Lieberman Avigdor Lieberman (, ; russian: Эве́т Льво́вич Ли́берман, Evet Lvovich Liberman, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2021, having previously served twice as Deputy ...

, had described some of

al-Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

reports as "Nazi Germany-style" propaganda. It was not clear if the measures covered

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة‎, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is own ...

, considered less strident. Under Israeli law, it is forbidden to

proselytize Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...

to a person under 18 without the consent of a parent. It is also forbidden to offer material benefits in the process of proselytizing.

Freedom House

publishes an annual ''

Freedom of the Press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

'' report. The 2013 report described Israel as having "the freest press in the region" but downgraded its status from "Free" to "Partly Free" in response to "the indictment of journalist

Uri Blau Uri Blau ( he, אורי בלאו; born 1977) is an Israeli investigative journalist writing for ''Haaretz'' newspaper and other publications. He is specialized in military affairs, corruption and "follow the money" investigations. Blau was convict ...

for possession of state secrets, the first time this law had been used against the press in several decades, as well as instances of politicized interference with the content of the

Israel Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station ''Kol Yisrael'', which made its first broadcast as an independent st ...

radio programs and concerns surrounding the license renewal of television's Channel 10."

Reporters Without Borders

In 2020

ranked Israel 88th in their

Press Freedom Index The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to ...

The results for

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the

from 2002 to the present are shown below, with lower numbers indicating better treatment of reporters:

List of media outlets

Print

Israel has a large number of dailies, weeklies and periodicals, all privately owned. * ''

B'Sheva ''B'Sheva'' () is a weekly Hebrew language newspaper published in Israel. The first issue of ''B'sheva'', published by Arutz Sheva, appeared on July 19, 2002. It is distributed free on Thursdays in religious population centers. Readership The p ...

'': Hebrew-language weekly religious newspaper. * ''

Calcalist ''Calcalist'' ( he, כלכליסט, a Hebrew wordplay on ''The Economist'', from כלכלה) is an Israeli daily business newspaper and website. History and profile ''Calcalist'' was first published on 18 February 2008, and currently runs five d ...

'': Hebrew-language daily business newspaper. * ''

Globes A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe of ...

'': Hebrew-language daily business newspaper (with online English edition). * ''

'': Israel's oldest daily newspaper with Hebrew and English editions. * ''

Hamodia ''Hamodia'' ( he, המודיע – "''the Informer''") is a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Jerusalem. A daily English-language edition is also published in the United States, and weekly English-language editions in England and Israe ...

'': daily

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

newspaper with Hebrew, English and French editions. * ''

Israel Hayom ''Israel Hayom'' ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵל הַיּוֹם, lit=Israel Today) is an Israeli national Hebrew-language free daily newspaper. First published in 2007, ''Israel Hayom'' is Israel's most widely distributed newspaper. Owned by the fam ...

'': Hebrew-language free daily newspaper (with online English edition). * ''

Israel Post ''Israel Post'' ( he, ישראל פוסט), originally ''Metro Israel'', was an Israeli Hebrew-language free daily newspaper tat existed between 2007 and 2016. It was based on the concept of the ''Metro International, Metro'' newspapers. Co-own ...

'': Hebrew-language free daily newspaper. * ''

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad (Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to: Sports Football Libya *Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier * Al Ittihad Gheryan, a football club bas ...

'': Arabic-language daily communist newspaper. * ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

'': Israel's oldest English-language newspaper. * ''

Kul al-Arab ''Kul al-Arab'' ( ar, كل العرب, meaning ''All Arabs'') is an Israeli Arabic-language weekly newspaper, founded in 1987. Based in Nazareth, the paper is Israel's most influential and widely read Arabic-language periodical. It is also distribu ...

'': Arabic-language weekly newspaper. * ''

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or night. It consists primarily of the evening ''Shema'' and '' Amidah''. The service will often begin with two verses from Psalms, ...

'': Hebrew-language daily newspaper. * ''

Makor Rishon ''Makor Rishon'' ( he, מָקוֹר רִאשׁוֹן lit. "Firsthand Source") is a semi-major Israeli newspaper associated with Religious Zionism and the conservative right-wing. History ''Makor Rishon'' was founded as a weekly magazine in Jul ...

'': Hebrew-language weekly newspaper. * ''

TheMarker ''TheMarker'' ( he, דה-מרקר) is a Hebrew-language daily business newspaper published by the Haaretz group in Israel. ''TheMarker'' was founded in 1999 by journalist and entrepreneur Guy Rolnik along with Haaretz group and U.S.-based invest ...

'': Hebrew-language business media. * ''

Vesti Vesti may refer to: Media * Vesti (German newspaper), a Serbian-language newspaper in Germany * ''Vesti'' (Israeli newspaper), a Russian-language newspaper in Israel * Vesti (TV channel), the former name of the news channel Russia-24 * Vesti ...

'': Russian-language daily newspaper. * '' Yated Ne'eman'': daily Haredi newspaper with Hebrew and English editions. * ''

Yedioth Ahronoth ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...

'': Hebrew-language daily newspaper.

Broadcast

PetahTikva 090917 Mandelblit Demonstrations 01

* Channel 9: Russian-language television channel. *

Keshet 12 Channel 12 ( he, ערוץ 12), also known as Keshet 12 ( he, קשת 12), is an Israeli free-to-air television channel owned by Keshet Media Group. It launched on 1 November 2017 as one of two replacements of the outgoing Channel 2. History Is ...

Hebrew-language television channel. *

Reshet 13 Channel 13 ( he, ערוץ 13), formally known as Reshet 13 ( he, רשת 13), is an Israeli free-to-air television channel owned by RGE Media Group and Reshet. It was launched on 1 November 2017 as one of two replacements of the outgoing Channel ...

: Hebrew-language television channel. * Channel 20: Hebrew-language television channel aimed at Jewish audience. *

Galei Tzahal Army Radio ( he, גלי צה"ל lit. IDF waves) or Galei Tzahal, known in Israel by its acronym Galatz ( he, גל"צ), is a nationwide Israeli radio network operated by the Israel Defense Forces. The station broadcasts news, music, traffic reports ...

: Hebrew-language general interest radio station. *

Galgalatz Galgalatz or GLGLZ ( he, גלגלצ) is an Israeli radio station, operated by Israel Defense Forces Radio. This is the second of two Israel Defense Forces-operated stations, while the first one is Israel Defense Forces Radio/Galatz. The station ...

: Hebrew-language radio station broadcasting music, traffic reports and news. * i24news: international news television channel in English, French and Arabic. *

Israeli Broadcasting Corporation The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC; he, תאגיד השידור הישראלי, translit=Ta'agid HaShidur HaYisra'eli, lit=Israeli Broadcasting Corporation; ar, هيئة البث الإسرائيلي, translit=Hayyat al-Bathi al- ...

: public broadcaster. ** Kan 11: Hebrew-language television channel. ** Kan 23 (Educational): Hebrew-language television channel for children. ** Kan 33 (Makan): Arabic-language television channel. **

Kol Yisrael ''Kol Yisrael'' or ''Kol Israel'' ( lit. "Voice of Israel", also "Israel Radio") is Israel's public domestic and international radio service. It operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Service from 1951 to 1965, the Israel Broadcastin ...

: radio service. *

Knesset Channel The Knesset Channel ( he, ערוץ כנסת; ''Arutz Knesset'', "Knesset Channel") is a public Israeli terrestrial channel that broadcasts the sessions of the Knesset as well as some other programs concerning the Israeli parliament. Prior to the e ...

: Hebrew-language political television channel. *

Kol Chai Kol Chai ( he, קול חי) is a Haredi and National Religious radio station in Israel established in 1996. The station, based in Bnei Brak, broadcasts six days a week: not on Shabbat. Frequencies Contributors ;Current *David Lau * Mordech ...

: Hebrew-language radio station aimed at Orthodox audience.

Internet

* '' +972'': A blog-based web magazine in English, with a Hebrew companion ' providing on-the-ground reporting and analysis of events in Israel and Palestine. * ''

Arutz Sheva ''Arutz Sheva'' ( he, ערוץ 7, lit=''Channel 7''), also known in English as ''Israel National News'', is an Israeli media network identifying with religious Zionism. It offers online news articles in Hebrew, English, and Russian as well as l ...

'': radio station and website in Hebrew, English and Russian. * ''

Bamahane ''Bamahane'' (also ''BaMahane'', he, במחנה, ''lit.'' in the base camp) was a Hebrew-language weekly magazine published by the Israel Defense Forces. It was first published in December 1934 by the Haganah and was published as a weekly until D ...

'': online magazine in Hebrew published by the Israel Defense Forces (shut down). * '' Debkafile'':

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

website in Hebrew and English. * ''

Kikar HaShabbat Kikar HaShabbat ( he, כיכר השבת, lit., "Sabbath Square"), known in the Haredi community as Kikar HaShabbos, is a major intersection joining five streets in Jerusalem, Israel, between Mea Shearim and Geula: Yehezkel Street from the north, ...

'': Hebrew-language Haredi website. * ''

Mida Mida may refer to: * Mida, Lorestan, a village in Iran * Mida (website), Israeli online magazine * Lucia Mida, a golfer *MIDA * MIDA, (Brand), Motorcycle Helmet and Accessories Brand, British Design. *''Mida'', a genus of Santalaceae The Santala ...

'': online magazine in Hebrew and English. * ''

mako , better known by the mononym name Mako (sometimes stylised MAKO), is a Japanese voice actress, singer and a member of the band Bon-Bon Blanco, in which her prominent role is as the maraca player. She has also performed in a Japanese television d ...

'': online news and entertainment portal. * ''

The Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman.

'': news website in English, Arabic, French, Persian and Hebrew.
Bokra
Israeli-Arab media website *

Davar ''Davar'' ( he, דבר, lit. ''Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. It was relaunched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an online outlet by th ...

, Histadrut-affiliated news website. *

TLV1 TLV1 is an English-language podcast network based in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and venture capitalist Avner Shelem, and broadcasts from its studios at Kikar HaMedina Kikar HaMedina (English: "Square of The ...

: English-language internet radio station. * ''

Walla! Walla! Communications Ltd. ( he, וואלה! תקשורת בע"מ) is an Israeli internet company headquartered in Tel Aviv and is fully owned by The Jerusalem Post. Until 2020, it was fully owned by Bezeq. Walla!'s web portal provides news, sea ...

'': Hebrew-language web portal. * ''

Ynet Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

'': Hebrew-language and English-language news website. * '' Zahav.ru'': Russian-language news website. * '' Lametayel'': Hebrew-language travel website * '' Israel-Nachrichten'': German-language online daily

References

External links

Media

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַחוּץ, Romanization of Hebrew, translit. ''Misrad HaHutz''; ar, وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية) is one of the most important ministries in the Cabinet of I ...

The Media in Israel
at the

Jewish Virtual Library Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

Israel
profile in ''

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Media of Israel