Katz announces imminent closure of Army Radio, claiming many feel it ‘harms the war effort, morale’

Defense Minister Israel Katz announces that he has decided to shut down Army Radio and orders broadcasts to cease by March 1, 2026, claiming that there are complaints that the station “harms the war effort and morale.”

Katz says he will soon bring the proposal to the government for approval.

Katz says he will form a professional team within the Defense Ministry to oversee the station’s closure, assist civilian employees with fair termination arrangements, and preserve civilian sister station Galgalatz, which focuses on music.

Calling the operation of a civilian-style broadcaster by the military “an anomaly unheard of in any democratic country in the world,” Katz says the move is necessary to protect the IDF’s nonpartisan status.

“What was will no longer be,” he declares. “Army Radio was established by the Israeli government as a military station to serve as a voice and ear for IDF soldiers and their families — not as a platform for opinions, many of which attack the IDF and its soldiers.”

“In recent years, particularly during the war, many soldiers and civilians — including bereaved families — have repeatedly complained that the station does not represent them and even harms the war effort and morale,” Katz adds. “Worse still, our enemies interpret these messages as if they are being conveyed by the IDF itself.”

The announcement marks a dramatic turning point in a lengthy controversy surrounding the military-run radio network, which has long been viewed as a cultural and political institution in Israel.

In September 2023, then-defense minister Yoav Gallant reversed earlier plans to privatize or shut down the station, instead pledging reforms and the appointment of a permanent commander with a military background.

But in March 2025, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi — echoing criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — urged Katz to shutter the station, claiming it had strayed from its founding purpose as a morale-building outlet for soldiers and had instead become “a political stronghold.”

Successive governments and IDF chiefs have debated whether the broadcaster should remain under military control, be transferred to civilian oversight or be closed altogether.