Israeli military oppose closure of army radio

Israel’s cabinet voted to shut down a popular national radio station, one in a series of measures by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition that critics see as blows to democracy.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had proposed that Army Radio will be shut down by March 1.

Its original purpose, according to Katz, had been to broadcast for Israel’s soldiers but that with time it served as a platform for views that “attack the IDF and the IDF soldiers themselves.”

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said the cabinet resolution suffered from multiple substantive flaws, including a failure to consider the impact on press freedom, and was therefore unlawful and should not have been approved, IRNA reported.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also criticized the move ahead of the vote, saying shuttering Army Radio was “part of the government’s move to abolish freedom of expression in Israel in an election year.”