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Thursday, September 4, 2025
Karhi threatens to withhold funds from public broadcaster if it airs film depicting IDF atrocities in War of Independence
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi is threatening to withhold funding from Israel’s public broadcaster Kan if it airs the documentary “1948 – Remember, Remember Not,” according to a report by Ynet.
“Media reviews indicate that the film adopts and promotes a false and antisemitic narrative, accusing IDF soldiers of committing massacres and rapes during the War of Independence,” says Karhi in a letter to Kan CEO Golan Yochpaz.
The film, directed by Neta Shoshani, retells the events of the 1948 war through the voices of both Jews and Arabs, incorporating footage, journals, and letters written at the time.
The minister is threatening to cut Kan’s budget if the film is aired.
Karhi has crusaded against the documentary ever since it premiered in Tel Aviv’s annual Docaviv Film Festival in 2023.
While Kan has refused Karhi’s demands not to air the film following its premiere, the controversy delayed the film’s release, which was further delayed due to Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas, according to Kan.
The dispute is part of Karhi’s broader campaign to dismantle the public broadcaster. For more than two years, he has advanced legislation to privatize Kan or shut it down entirely, including a bill stating that if no private buyer is found within two years, Kan will be shuttered and its intellectual property transferred to the government.
The Times of Israel Community.