Editors Committee (Israel)
Encyclopedia
The Editors Committee is an informal forum comprised by the editors and owners of the main Israeli media. It meets regularly with the prime minister, cabinet members and senior officials. Until the 1980s, it took a central role in the self-censorship practiced by the Israeli media outlets. The understanding was, that the information reported to the committee would not be published in the media, even once received from another source.
Professor Dan Caspi, who has served as chairman of the Israeli Communications Association, notes in his Mass Media and Politics (The Open University, 1997), that “the majority of the newspapers in [Israel's] pre-state period were founded as ideological organs of political trends, and were under the ideological authority of the political parties and dependent on their financial backing. The party institutions and their leaders were involved in the selection process for the sensitive senior positions in the paper, particularly in the choice of the editor.”
In the pre-state yishuv
period, most of the Hebrew press editors felt that their primary role was educational, to help in the state-building process. Such values as freedom of the press
and the idea of being a public watchdog were secondary. The editors of the Hebrew-language press founded the Reaction Committee in 1942 because, as they stated at the time, they “felt the need for guidance from the Jewish community’s leadership on publication policy concerning sensitive matters, such as the expulsion of ma’apilim (illegal immigrants) and the search for weapons in Hebrew settlements.”
The IDF
assumed responsibility for administering the censorship regulations. This was done through and agreement with the Editor's Committee, which allowed most Hebrew-language newspapers to exercise self-censorship, with the censor receiving only articles dealing with national security matters. This arrangement did not cover Arabic-language publications, whose editors were required to submit items for publication to the military administration on a nightly basis.
of 1973 served as a major change catalyst, by intitiating a wide coverage of military issues and criticism of military failures. Towards the Lebanon War of 1982
, partial information was published concerning the plans for an operation and the disagreement in the cabinet towards it. When fighting eventually started, the Israeli media initially followed the government's guidance in publishing information about the war. However, within about three weeks, when it became clear that the operation was not meeting its original goals, Israeli society engaged in a public debate about the war, which was covered widely by the press.
In parallel, the role of the Committee itself declined following the 1977 elections, that brought right-wing Likud
party to power for the first time. New prime minister Menachem Begin
was suspicious of most of the press, which he considered as being hostile to his party, and rarely convened the forum.
In 1992, 5 soldiers of Sayeret Matkal
, an elite commando unit of the Israel Defense Forces
, were killed in a training accident. Information about the accident, and in particular the presence at the site of Ehud Barak
, then chief of IDF staff, was censored. However, after information was leaked to the foreign press and published abroad, the episode was reported in Israel, too. As a result of this affair, two major newspapers, Haaretz
and Yediot Aharonot, withdrew from the censorship agreement and the Editors Committee.
, censored or shut down many Palestinian newspapers and magazines in the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip
and arrested Arab journalists, including several members of the board of the Arab Journalists' Association.
Origins
The British mandatory authority enacted in 1933 the Press Ordinance, which regulated the content of the news press in British Palestine. Many of the country's Jewish newspapers, particularly the English-language Jerusalem Post and those printed in Hebrew, were founded by Zionist political parties during the pre-statehood period, and subsequently continued to be politically affiliated with such parties.Professor Dan Caspi, who has served as chairman of the Israeli Communications Association, notes in his Mass Media and Politics (The Open University, 1997), that “the majority of the newspapers in [Israel's] pre-state period were founded as ideological organs of political trends, and were under the ideological authority of the political parties and dependent on their financial backing. The party institutions and their leaders were involved in the selection process for the sensitive senior positions in the paper, particularly in the choice of the editor.”
In the pre-state yishuv
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
period, most of the Hebrew press editors felt that their primary role was educational, to help in the state-building process. Such values as freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
and the idea of being a public watchdog were secondary. The editors of the Hebrew-language press founded the Reaction Committee in 1942 because, as they stated at the time, they “felt the need for guidance from the Jewish community’s leadership on publication policy concerning sensitive matters, such as the expulsion of ma’apilim (illegal immigrants) and the search for weapons in Hebrew settlements.”
Early Statehood
In 1948, the Press Ordinance was adopted by Israel and administered by the Ministry of Interior which undertook to "license, supervise, and regulate" the press. After the establishment of the state in 1948, prime minister Ben-Gurion saw great advantages in the arrangement with the Israeli press, and he frequently convened the newly renamed Editors Committee to share important information with the editors, on condition that it was not be published.The IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
assumed responsibility for administering the censorship regulations. This was done through and agreement with the Editor's Committee, which allowed most Hebrew-language newspapers to exercise self-censorship, with the censor receiving only articles dealing with national security matters. This arrangement did not cover Arabic-language publications, whose editors were required to submit items for publication to the military administration on a nightly basis.
Decline in status
Cooperation between the government and the press was sometimes tense. These tensions increased as the value of free speech and the role of the press as watchdog came to be more widely recognized. The process accelerated in the 1970s, as a result of social changes in Israel and developments in the global media. The Yom Kippur WarYom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
of 1973 served as a major change catalyst, by intitiating a wide coverage of military issues and criticism of military failures. Towards the Lebanon War of 1982
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
, partial information was published concerning the plans for an operation and the disagreement in the cabinet towards it. When fighting eventually started, the Israeli media initially followed the government's guidance in publishing information about the war. However, within about three weeks, when it became clear that the operation was not meeting its original goals, Israeli society engaged in a public debate about the war, which was covered widely by the press.
In parallel, the role of the Committee itself declined following the 1977 elections, that brought right-wing Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
party to power for the first time. New prime minister Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
was suspicious of most of the press, which he considered as being hostile to his party, and rarely convened the forum.
In 1992, 5 soldiers of Sayeret Matkal
Sayeret Matkal
Sayeret Matkal is a special forces unit of the Israel Defence Forces , which is subordinated to the intelligence directorate Aman. First and foremost a field intelligence-gathering unit, conducting deep reconnaissance behind enemy lines to obtain strategic intelligence, Sayeret Matkal is also...
, an elite commando unit of the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
, were killed in a training accident. Information about the accident, and in particular the presence at the site of Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
, then chief of IDF staff, was censored. However, after information was leaked to the foreign press and published abroad, the episode was reported in Israel, too. As a result of this affair, two major newspapers, Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
and Yediot Aharonot, withdrew from the censorship agreement and the Editors Committee.
Current status
A new censorship agreement, signed in 1996, limited censorship to information that, when published, would, "with high probability", constitute a real danger to national security. In addition, it ensured the press's right to appeal the censor's decisions to the Supreme Court.Israeli censorship in the Occupied Territories
In 1988, Israeli authorities, suspecting Palestinian journalists of involvement in the IntifadaFirst Intifada
The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem....
, censored or shut down many Palestinian newspapers and magazines in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
and arrested Arab journalists, including several members of the board of the Arab Journalists' Association.