From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 22, 2025
Lapid: Coalition ‘moving to abolish freedom of expression’ with Army Radio vote
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams Defense Minister Israel Katz’s efforts to shutter Army Radio ahead of a cabinet vote on the proposal, declaring that shuttering the broadcaster was “part of the government’s move to abolish freedom of expression in Israel in an election year.”
“They are unable to control reality, so they are trying to control consciousness. First Reshet Bet and Channel 11, now Army Radio; soon Channels 12 and 13 as well,” Lapid says, referencing coalition legislation to give the government significant control over broadcast media and shutter public broadcaster Kan.
“They will not stop. Everywhere there is truth that is inconvenient for the government, they act to eliminate it. The government doesn’t know how to deal with the cost of living, with the abandonment of security, or with ultra-Orthodox draft evasion — so it shuts down the media,” Lapid says.
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