Cabinet votes to shutter Army Radio, overriding legal and press freedom concerns

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

47% : The cabinet on Monday unanimously approved Defense Minister Israel Katz's proposal to shut down the IDF-run Army Radio station, with broadcasts set to end by March 1, 2026, according to the minister's office.
46% : First Reshet Bet and Channel 11, now Army Radio; soon Channels 12 and 13 as well," Lapid said, referencing coalition-backed legislation to give the government significant control over broadcast media and shutter Kan. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel filed a petition to the High Court of Justice against the government's resolution.
42% : " She also determined that Army Radio could only be shuttered through legislation, citing previous legal determinations that executive action would only be permissible if public broadcasting in Israel were "operative and stable.
41% : " 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.
40% : " Katz said the move was intended to correct a democratic "anomaly." "A situation in which a radio station intended for all citizens of the State of Israel is operated by the military is an anomaly that does not exist in democratic countries," he told ministers.
39% : He argued that Army Radio's political and current affairs programming "creates a fundamental difficulty for the IDF, stemming from the IDF's involuntary involvement in political discourse," and said the station's content "harms the Israel Defense Forces, its soldiers and its unity.
37% : The Union of Journalists in Israel also said it would petition the High Court against the government's decision, arguing the move constituted a severe violation of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

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