Gantz told no decision possible on future of Army Radio before election

The Attorney General’s Office says Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s plan to remove Army Radio from under military auspices will need to wait until a new government is formed.

Gantz announced the plan last month, saying an inter-agency team would be formed to develop a plan “to transfer the station or shut it.”

Deputy Attorney General Meir Levin tells the defense minister he cannot make any final decision on the matter at this time due to the country being headed to an election.

The newsroom of Army Radio, which contains both conscripted soldiers and civilians who work on its programming. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash 90/File)

But he says the panel can do its work and give its recommendations to the next defense minister.

The military’s operating, and funding, a radio station with journalists responsible for investigating the Israel Defense Forces itself, as well as politicians, has long been considered anachronistic, expensive and an ethical minefield. For that reason, for at least the past five years, the IDF has called for Army Radio to no longer be part of the military.