{"id":8091,"date":"2026-07-25T21:39:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T21:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/25\/how-netanyahu-govt-media-reforms-risk-deepening-israeli-press-bias\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T21:39:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T21:39:05","slug":"how-netanyahu-govt-media-reforms-risk-deepening-israeli-press-bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/25\/how-netanyahu-govt-media-reforms-risk-deepening-israeli-press-bias\/","title":{"rendered":"How Netanyahu gov\u2019t media reforms risk deepening Israeli press bias"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Media freedom organisations and opposition lawmakers have criticised sweeping media reforms pushed through by Israel\u2019s right-wing coalition as part of a legislative blitz before the parliament\u2019s dissolution in advance of elections later this year.<\/p>\n<p>The parliament, or Knesset, last week approved the bill that could give the government a far greater say in Israel\u2019s news and broadcast sectors. The controversial measure strips away traditional oversight safeguards, eliminates requirements for minimum journalism standards and lifts longstanding limits on cross-ownership, among others.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2025\/6\/26\/israels-media-amplifies-war-rhetoric-ignores-gazas-suffering\">Israel\u2019s media amplifies war rhetoric, ignores Gaza\u2019s suffering<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/3\/13\/success-uncertain-but-israelis-continue-to-back-heroic-war-with-iran\">Success uncertain, but Israelis continue to back \u2018heroic\u2019 war with Iran<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/7\/23\/far-right-israeli-incursion-heightens-tensions-at-al-aqsa-ahead-of-election\">Far-right Israeli incursion heightens tensions at Al-Aqsa ahead of election<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/7\/24\/netanyahu-to-meet-trump-at-white-house-next-week-amid-iran-war-escalation\">Netanyahu to meet Trump at White House next week amid Iran war escalation<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Following the July 17 vote, watchdog groups, including the Union of Journalists in Israel, along with opposition parties, successfully petitioned the High Court of Justice to freeze parts of the legislation. They warned that some provisions that were set to take effect immediately, including the removal of limits on ownership of multiple media outlets and the stripping away of newsroom standards, could permanently distort the media landscape before the October 27 election, potentially influencing its outcome.<\/p>\n<p>The government has until Sunday to respond, after which the court will decide whether to keep the freeze, widen it, or allow the provisions to take effect. Other, less contentious and immediate sections of the law were left to stand.<\/p>\n<p>Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not vote on the measure. He is currently bound by a 2020 conflict-of-interest agreement that bars him from participating in government decisions that could affect his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/12\/9\/benjamin-netanyahus-corruption-trial-what-you-need-to-know\">ongoing corruption trial<\/a>, where, among other charges, he stands accused of using his position to unduly influence media coverage of his administration.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi thanked Netanyahu directly, saying: \u201cMr prime minister, I want to thank you and tell you that the mission you gave me four years ago \u2013 to deliver right-wing reform of the media \u2013 was today successfully completed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Israeli media reported that such a directive by Netanyahu could be a violation of his agreement. Neither the Prime Minister\u2019s Office nor the Communications Ministry responded to Al Jazeera\u2019s queries over whether Netanyahu\u2019s role in the legislation\u2019s passage represented a conflict of interest. However, Karhi subsequently claimed that he had secured a legal opinion determining that the prime minister was not in breach of the conflict-of-interest agreement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi have proven repeatedly that they are enemies of independent journalism in Israel,\u201d Martin Roux, of the Reporters Without Borders media monitor, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis means they\u2019re attacking every Israeli citizen\u2019s right to reliable information from diverse sources. This has been true for years, and it is becoming more obvious every day as the legislative elections, set for the end of October, approach. It\u2019s all about controlling the narrative,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>In a social media post, Karhi claimed the new legislation would bring \u201cmore right-wing coverage and less regulation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter a determined struggle against every possible element from the deep state, tycoons, attorneys, officials and fearmongering networks \u2013 we managed to pass the right-wing media reform.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"boosting-propaganda-channels\">\u2018Boosting propaganda channels\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>However, for many observers, there was little new in overhauling media that had grown used to toeing the government line, with critical coverage of the multiple wars that Israel has engaged in and the international outrage that many have caused typically relegated to the sidelines of the national conversation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reforms are part of Netanyahu\u2019s ongoing media overhaul \u2013 undermining the remains of critical reporting and journalistic independence in the country, while boosting Netanyahu\u2019s propaganda channels,\u201d London-based Israeli academic and media analyst Ayala Panievsky told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4322935\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4322935\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/getty_6996129a15-1771442842.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C514&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 22: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks after presenting the \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d at the\u00a0World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 22, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. The annual meeting of political and business leaders comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Europe over a range of issues, including Trump's vow to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images)\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4322935\">Israel\u2019s Channel 14 has consistently pushed the \u2018big lie\u2019, that Trump won the 2020 US elections, leading some to wonder if the channel would be prepared to do the same again in Israel later this year [Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She cited the far-right Channel 14, which she said emboldened Israel\u2019s war crimes and offered unflagging support to what she described as the most right-wing government in Israel\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 2020, they amplified \u2018the Big Lie\u2019 in the US elections, claiming Trump won the election \u2013 they might therefore act similarly following the Israeli general elections in October, if Netanyahu\u2019s coalition indeed loses,\u201d said Panievsky, echoing similar concerns among academics and legal analysts sparked by accusations from lawmakers within Netanyahu\u2019s Likud party that the acting head of the Central Elections Committee, Dean Livne, was \u201cclearly politically biased\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts and observers from across Israel have long <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2025\/6\/26\/israels-media-amplifies-war-rhetoric-ignores-gazas-suffering\">pointed<\/a> to the strongly nationalist undertone of much of Israel\u2019s current affairs coverage and the absence of space given to Palestinians and Palestinian suffering.<\/p>\n<p>When the United Nations\u2019 Independent International Commission of Inquiry <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/16\/first-head-of-united-nations-body-declares-israels-gaza-war-a-genocide\">concluded<\/a> in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry dismissed the findings as \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/16\/first-head-of-united-nations-body-declares-israels-gaza-war-a-genocide\">distorted and false<\/a>\u201c, a framing echoed across domestic outlets rather than scrutinised.<\/p>\n<p>A subsequent Molad report found only 3 percent of Channel 12\u2019s early war coverage referenced Gaza\u2019s humanitarian crisis, with just two of 206 visuals showing Palestinian civilian casualties. Elsewhere, allegations of Israeli war crimes, including sexual abuse, are either omitted or given pro-government framing, observers told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4800407\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4800407\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AA-20260723-42052124-42052105-ISRAELI_ARMY_CONTINUES_ATTACKS_ON_GAZA_STRIP-1784861591.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Thick smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on a residential area in the Al-Jalaa neighborhood despite the ceasefire in Gaza City, Gaza, Palestine, on July 23, 2026. Photojournalist:Saeed M. M. T. Jaras\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4800407\">Thick smoke rises following an Israeli air strike on a residential area in the Al-Jalaa neighbourhood despite the \u2018ceasefire\u2019 [Saeed MMT Jaras\/Anadolu]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe Israeli media just doesn\u2019t feature Gaza. It\u2019s not there,\u201d political analyst Ori Goldberg said from outside Tel Aviv. \u201cThere\u2019s no sense of solidarity with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/25\/israel-has-killed-more-journalists-than-any-government-on-record-cpj\">journalists killed<\/a> there, or those they don\u2019t let in. They\u2019re just not mentioned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, discussion panels on the various wars that the Netanyahu administration had embarked upon were typically staffed by ex-generals, who had no question with the need for war, only differences over its prosecution, said Goldberg.<\/p>\n<p>However, even this relative compliance was not enough for a prime minister fighting an election that had come to rely on the appearance of forward momentum and paper enemies to sustain his political project.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNetanyahu always needs to be seen to be pushing the envelope,\u201d Goldberg added. \u201cHe needs a media that will give barely critical coverage of his every word, but one that he can still present as the enemy within.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Media freedom organisations and opposition lawmakers have criticised sweeping media reforms pushed through by Israel\u2019s right-wing coalition as part of a legislative blitz before the parliament\u2019s dissolution in advance of elections later this year. The parliament, or Knesset, last week approved the bill that could give the government a far greater say in Israel\u2019s news &#8230; <a title=\"How Netanyahu gov\u2019t media reforms risk deepening Israeli press bias\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/25\/how-netanyahu-govt-media-reforms-risk-deepening-israeli-press-bias\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How Netanyahu gov\u2019t media reforms risk deepening Israeli press bias\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}