''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 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, and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

as well as live streaming radio, video and free podcasts. It also publishes a weekly newspaper, ''

B'Sheva ''B'Sheva'' () is a weekly Hebrew language newspaper published in Israel. The first issue of ''B'sheva'', published by Arutz Sheva ''Arutz Sheva'' ( he, ערוץ 7, lit=''Channel 7''), also known in English as ''Israel National News'', is an ...

'', with the third-largest weekend circulation in the country.

History

In the 1970s an offshore radio station Voice of Peace was launched, broadcasting pacifistic messages. In response, Rabbi

Zalman Baruch Melamed Zalman Baruch Melamed ( he, זלמן ברוך מלמד, born 1937) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and the rosh yeshiva of the Beit El yeshiva in Beit El. He founded the Arutz Sheva radio station, and served as neighborhood rabbi in Beit El unti ...

launched radio station ''Arutz Sheva'' in 1988, aimed at Israelis opposed to negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization. Based in Beit El, 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 the ...

. It was one of the first

Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

stations and was used as a beta tester for RealPlayer. From 1996 to 2002, ''Arutz Sheva'' broadcast in

. 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 esta ...

reported that Arutz Sheva along with

Algemeiner The ''Algemeiner Journal'', known informally as ''The Algemeiner'', is a newspaper based in New York City that covers American and international Jewish and Israel-related news. History In 1972, Gershon Jacobson founded the Yiddish-language ...

, The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post 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 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, 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 Beit El. 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 Moshe Katsav ( he, מֹשֶׁה קַצָּב; born 5 December 1945) is an Israeli former politician who was the eighth President of Israel from 2000 to 2007. He was also a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset and a minister in its cabine ...

Departments

Internet

''Arutz Sheva'' has been running its website since 1995. Editor-in-chief is Uzi Baruch, who succeeded Baruch Gordon and

Hillel Fendel Hillel Fendel ( he, הלל פנדל) was, for 16 years, senior editor and co-founder of Arutz Sheva's "Israel National News" and also works as an author and editor. He worked as a teacher and rabbi in the past. Fendel has authored both news article ...

. Today, three versions of the site are offered:

, English and

. 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 t ...

section, opinion polls and caricatures. ''Arutz Sheva'' offers online streaming videos in Hebrew and English with news anchor and producer Yoni Kempinski, Knesset reporter Hezki Ezra, overseas correspondent Eliran Aharon and others. ''Arutz Shevas jukebox offers a selection of

Jewish music Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may originate ...

including Israeli,

Hassidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

and Mizrahi songs, as well as music for Jewish holidays and special events.

Radio

Israel National Radio is ''Arutz Shevas English language

internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

station, operating in Beit El. 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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 tot ...

and

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

, 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 Light to the nations ( he, אוֹר לַגּוֹיִים, ʾŌr laGōyyīm; also "light of the nations", "light of all nations", "light for all nations") is a term originated from the prophet Isaiah which is understood by some to express the uni ...

." 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 programs. The podcasts on the station include Tamar Yonah,

Yishai Fleisher Rabbi Yishai Fleisher ( he, ישי פליישר, born 1976) is a pro-Israel activist, a podcast host, and international spokesperson for the Jewish community of Hebron in Israel. Fleisher is a strong advocate of aliyah, the migration to Israel o ...

, ''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), ''A Light Unto The Nations'', ''The Jay Shapiro Show'', ''Torah Tidbits Audio'' (with Phil Chernofsky), and ''The Aliyah Revolution'' (co-hosted by Go'el Jasper and Daniel Esses).

Print

'' 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' 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