''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 Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, th ...

. It offers online news articles in

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 ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, and Russian as well as live streaming radio, video and free podcasts. It also publishes a weekly newspaper, '' B'Sheva'', with the third-largest weekend circulation in the country.

History

In the 1970s an

offshore radio Offshore radio is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures. Offshore broadcasters are usually unlicensed but transmissions are legal in international waters. This is in contrast to unlicensed broadcasting on land or within a na ...

station

Voice of Peace Voice of Peace ( he, קול השלום, ''Kol HaShalom'') was an offshore radio station that broadcast in the Middle East for 20 years from the former Dutch cargo vessel ''MV Peace'' (formally ''MV Cito''), anchored off the Israeli coast ...

was launched, broadcasting pacifistic messages. In response, Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed launched radio station ''Arutz Sheva'' in 1988, aimed at Israelis opposed to negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization. Based in

Beit El Beit El or Beth El ( he, בֵּית אֵל) is an Israeli settlement and local council located in the Binyamin Region of the West Bank. The Orthodox Jewish town was settled in 1977-78 by the ultranationalist group Gush Emunim. It is located in ...

, the station generated its broadcast on the Israeli airwaves from the ship MV ''Eretz HaTzvi'' in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. It was one of the first Internet radio stations and was used as a beta tester for RealPlayer. From 1996 to 2002, ''Arutz Sheva'' broadcast in Russian. In 2003, ''Arutz Sheva'' ceased its radio operations after attempts to legalize it were unsuccessful. In 2020,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

reported that Arutz Sheva along with Algemeiner,

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.

and

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 pap ...

had published op-eds written under a false identity. The supposed author, Oliver Taylor, was an "elaborate fiction".

Legal dispute

In February 1999, the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...

passed a law granting a license to ''Arutz Sheva'' and absolving it of earlier illegal broadcasting, but this was appealed to the

Supreme Court of Israel ar, المحكمة العليا , image = Emblem of Israel dark blue full.svg , imagesize = 100px , caption = Emblem of Israel , motto = , established = , location = Givat Ram, Jerusalem , coordina ...

, which ruled the law null and void in March 2002. In October 2003, ten employees of ''Arutz Sheva'' were convicted of operating an illegal radio station during the period 1995–98, both from inside Israeli territorial waters and from

. The defendants were fined and sentenced to 3–6 months of community service. The prosecution appealed, attempting to get heavier sentences, but were strongly criticized by the appellate court for their handling of the case, and the prosecution was told to drop the appeal or face an investigation into their conduct during the entire trial. Station director Ya'akov "Katzele" Katz was also convicted on two counts of perjury for having lied about the location of the broadcasts. In 2006, Katz was pardoned by President Moshe Katsav.

Departments

Internet

''Arutz Sheva'' has been running its website since 1995. Editor-in-chief is Uzi Baruch, who succeeded Baruch Gordon and Hillel Fendel. Today, three versions of the site are offered:

and Russian. It includes news articles, news briefs, videos, op-eds, a

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

section, opinion polls and caricatures. ''Arutz Sheva'' offers online streaming videos in Hebrew and English with news anchor and producer Yoni Kempinski,

reporter Hezki Ezra, overseas correspondent Eliran Aharon and others. ''Arutz Shevas jukebox offers a selection of Jewish music including

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

, Hassidic and Mizrahi songs, as well as music for

Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainst ...

and special events.

Radio

Israel National Radio is ''Arutz Shevas English language internet radio station, operating in

. It broadcasts primarily across the Internet, is simulcast on radio stations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, and affirms its purposes as being to spread the word 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 ...

Jews 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""The ...

and Israel supporters in the English-speaking world as well as Anglophones living in Israel, and to be the archetypal " Light Unto the Nations." During shows, people can phone in on international toll-free numbers or chat with other listeners. The station's slogan is "the largest independent newstalk network in the Middle East." Israel National Radio is made up of news on the hour and live and pre-recorded podcasts. These shows include current affairs commentaries, general talk shows, music, and

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

programs. The podcasts on the station include Tamar Yonah, Yishai Fleisher, ''The Struggle'' (with Yehuda HaKohen), ''Israel Beat'' (a music program), ''Walter's World'' (with Walter Bingham), ''Land Minds'' (with Dovid Wilner and Barnea Selavan), ''Temple Talk'' (hosted by Rabbi

Chaim Richman Chaim Richman is a rabbi in Israel, and was the International Director of the Temple Institute from 1989 to 2020, which is dedicated to the rebuilding of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and a member of the current effort to revive the Sanhedrin. In J ...

), ''A Light Unto The Nations'', ''The Jay Shapiro Show'', ''Torah Tidbits Audio'' (with Phil Chernofsky), and ''The

Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

Revolution'' (co-hosted by Go'el Jasper and Daniel Esses).

Print

'' B'Sheva'' is Israel's third most widely read weekly newspaper, with a 6.8% exposure rate, according to the TGI survey. The paper is distributed free to over 150,000 homes.

Political stance

''Arutz Sheva'' sees itself as a counterbalance to " 'negative thinking' and '

post-Zionist Post-Zionism refers to the opinions of some Israelis, diaspora Jews and others, particularly in academia, that Zionism fulfilled its ideological mission with the formation of the modern State of Israel in 1948, and that Zionist ideology should ...

' attitudes." It has been identified with the Israeli settlement movement.

References

External links

* {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Arutz Sheva'' 1988 establishments in Israel Community radio stations English-language radio stations English-language websites Former pirate radio stations Hebrew-language websites Internet radio stations Israeli news websites Israeli political websites Jewish radio Jewish websites Mass media companies of Israel Multilingual news services Multilingual websites News and talk radio stations Offshore radio broadcasters Radio stations established in 1988 Radio stations in Israel Religious mass media in Israel Religious Zionist organizations Russian-language mass media in Israel Russian-language websites