Israeli Military Censor
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The Israeli Military Censor ( he, הצנזורה הצבאית) is a unit in the
IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...
Directorate of Military Intelligence tasked with carrying out preventive
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
inside 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 ...
regarding the publication of information that might affect the
security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...
of Israel. The body is headed by the Israeli Chief Censor, a military official is appointed by Israel's
Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
, who bestows upon the Chief Censor the authority to suppress information he deems compromising from being made public in the media. On average, 2240 press articles in Israel are censored by the Israeli Military Censor each year, approximately 240 of which in full, and around 2000 partially.


Censorship Agreement

In 1966, the Censorship Agreement was signed between
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 ...
representatives and the IDF. The media agreed to abide by the orders of the Military Censor, while the IDF agreed not to misuse its role: *The purpose of the censorship is to prevent the publication of security information which could benefit the enemy or harm the State. *There will be no censorship on political issues, on expressions of opinion or assessments unless they hint on
classified information Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know, ...
. *The Military Censor will inform the media the issues that demand its approval. The list is subject to change but always includes two overarching issues: the security of the state and the immigration of Jews from nations hostile to Israel.


Parliamentary and judicial oversight

During the 1990s, 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 (with ...
's
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee ( he, ועדת חוץ וביטחון) is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense issues of the State of Israel, including the drafting of legislation, supervision over rel ...
appointed a subcommittee, chaired by
Yossi Sarid Yossi Sarid ( he, יוסי שריד‎; 24 October 1940 – 4 December 2015) was an Israeli politician and news commentator. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment, Ratz and Meretz between 1974 and 2006. A former Minister of ...
, to examine the existence and role of the Military Censor. The subcommittee recommended to keep the Censorship Agreement in place but to amend it: *Extend the terms of the Agreement to all media outlets in Israel, not only media outlets with representatives in the Editorial Committee. *A simple appeal of a decision rendered by the "Censorship Committee" will not be heard by the
Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
but by a
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
Judge, or a retired judge with an Arbitrator status in the arbitration law. *The terms of the Censorship Agreement will also be extended to foreign journalists working in Israel *A newspaper will be allowed to cite anything published in another newspaper unless the Military Censor decides the material poses "imminent and immediate danger" in the spirit of the terms established by the Supreme Court. *The Military Censor and the Interior Minister are to be prohibited from shutting down a newspaper that is not part of the Agreement without giving it the opportunity to appeal the decision in the courts. The former president of the Supreme Court,
Aharon Barak Aharon Barak ( he, אהרן ברק; born Erik Brick, 16 September 1936) is an Israeli lawyer and jurist who served as President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1995 to 2006. Prior to this, Barak served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of I ...
, ruled that when in direct conflict, the right to live supersedes the right to expression: :Precisely because of the existential nature of the security issues, it is important that the public be aware of the host of problems, in a manner where it is able to arrive at wise decisions on the fundamental problems which trouble it. Precisely because the repercussions that decisions of a security nature have on the life of nation, it is suitable to open the door to openly exchanging of views on security issues. In March 2005, it became public that the
Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
-appointed
Winograd Commission The Winograd Commission ( he, ועדת וינוגרד; the commission's official name is הוועדה לבדיקת ארועי המערכה בלבנון 2006 – "The commission of inquiry into the events of military engagement in Lebanon 2006") is ...
for reviewing the authority of the Military Censor (chaired by former judge,
Eliyahu Winograd Eliyahu Winograd ( he, אליהו וינוגרד; 10 December 1926 – 13 January 2018) was an Israeli acting Supreme Court judge and former president of the Tel Aviv District Court. Between September 11, 2006 and April 30, 2007 he chaired the Wi ...
), whose members were selected by the then-Chief Censor
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Miri Regev Miriam "Miri" Regev ( he, מִרְיָם "מִירִי" רֶגֶב; born Miriam Siboni on 26 May 1965) is an Israeli politician and a former brigadier-general in the Israel Defense Forces, in which she served as IDF Spokeswoman. She currently s ...
, would recommend expanding the authority of the Military Censor, by proposing legislation to repeal the 1989 Supreme Court ruling, which limited the scope its authority on legitimate news reporting. Since then, opposition for the move (initiated by commission member, professor Asa Kasher) was expressed by professor Gabriela Shalev, another commission member.


Chief Censor

The unit is commanded by the Chief Censor, an officer directly appointed by the
Defense Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
. It is an entirely independent position in the IDF, which is neither subordinate to the Defense Minister, nor the
Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
, Aman Director, or any one else on the
chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...
or from the political echelon, and is only subject to parliamentary and judicial oversight. As of August 2005, the Chief Censor is
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Sima Vaknin Sima or SIMA may refer to: People * Sima (Chinese surname) * Sima (given name), a Persian feminine name in use in Iran and Turkey * Sima (surname) Places * Sima, Comoros, on the island of Anjouan, near Madagascar * Sima de los Huesos, a caver ...
.


Notable cases

* 1954 – Lavon Affair. Censor circumvented by use of code words. * 1977 – ''
The Rabin Memoirs ''The Rabin Memoirs'' (Hebrew: פנקס שירות ''Service Notebook'') is an autobiography and a memoir of Yitzhak Rabin published in 1979, which Rabin co-authored with journalist Dov Goldstein. The book made a number of scandals at the time, du ...
''.
Yitzak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
's account of
David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the name ...
's 1948 instructions to expel the Arab populations of
Ramla Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations. The city was f ...
and
Lydda Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephe ...
removed from English edition. * 1982 – Tyre HQ attack. * 1984 –
Kav 300 affair The Bus 300 affair (), also known as Kav 300 affair, was a 1984 incident in which Shin Bet members executed two Palestinian bus hijackers, immediately after the hostage crisis incident ended and they had been captured. After the incident, the Sh ...
. Picture published in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. * 1986 – Trial of
Mordechai Vanunu Mordechai Vanunu ( he, מרדכי ואנונו; born 14 October 1952), also known as John Crossman, is an Israeli former nuclear technician and peace activist who, citing his opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Israe ...
. * 1988 – Assassination of
Abu Jihad Khalil Ibrahim al-Wazir Standardized Arabic transliteration: '' / / '' ( ar, خليل إبراهيم الوزير, also known by his '' kunya'' Abu JihadStandardized Arabic transliteration: ' —"Jihad's Father"; 10 October 1935 – 16 April 1 ...
. Two American reporters have their accreditations removed for failing to submit stories for clearance. * 1997 – Attempted assassination of Khalid Mashal. * 2002 –
Operation Defensive Shield Operation "Defensive Shield" ( he, מִבְצָע חוֹמַת מָגֵן, ''Mivtza Homat Magen'', literally "Operation Shield Wall") was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002 during the Second Intifada ...
. 2 April:
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
and
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
threatened with legal action for broadcasting from
Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...
. * 2008–2009 – Gaza War. * 2014 –
2014 Israel–Gaza conflict The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territories, Pale ...
* 2021 – After ''
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 ...
'' revealed that the popular news channel '' Abu Ali Express'' was actually run by Gilad Cohen, an employee hired by the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
to run the channel under an Arab pseudonym as a psychological warfare tool, the Israeli Military Censor prohibited the Israeli press from publishing Cohen's name. * 2022 – After over two decades of the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
using
drone warfare Drone warfare is a form of aerial warfare using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, India, Pakista ...
, in July 2022 a standing censorship order that prevented the Israeli press from reporting on Israeli military drones was finally lifted.


See also

*
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 ...


References

{{Censorship Military units and formations of Israel Censorship in Israel Military Intelligence Directorate (Israel)