In a move that sparked outrage in Israel’s political and media establishment, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Tuesday that he will ask the government to shut down the Army Radio known as Galei Tzahal. If approved, the station will cease broadcasting in March, ending a 75-year institution that has been a big part of Israel for wartime and traffic alerts.
Katz framed the decision as a necessity for Israel’s security. “What was is not what will be,” he said in a statement. “Army Radio was established by the Israeli government as a military station to serve as a mouthpiece and an ear for IDF soldiers and their families—and not as a platform for voicing opinions, many of which attack the IDF and the IDF soldiers themselves.”
As a continuation of the Hagana transmission to the Jewish population during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Galatz began broadcasting in 1950. For generations, the Army Radio has been a national institution. Soldiers in bunkers, families in bomb shelters and commuters in Tel Aviv traffic have turned to its broadcasting for everything from breaking war updates to late-night dedications. It launched the career of prominent Israeli journalist Ilana Dayan, who was the first woman correspondent in the station’s history.
With Israel facing deep internal divisions over the war in Gaza, judicial reform, and ultra-Orthodox conscription, the station’s closure is seen by many as a silencing of dissent.
“An anxious government that fears criticism is trying to change the rules of the game before the next election,” said opposition leader Yair Lapid in a statement on X.
All news, current affairs and investigative programming will end in March. The closing of Army Radio opens up the possibility of being privatized. Civilians and soldiers who work there face an uncertain future.
The program’s annual budget is 52 million shekels ($14 million), funded entirely by the Defense Ministry. Its frequencies cover most of Israel’s geographic location and are among the most listened to in the country.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara warned the move “sounds a major alarm on political intervention in public broadcasting.” Her interventions are part of her role as the government’s chief legal officer, which has often clashed with the Prime Minister’s coalition on issues like judicial reforms and media independence.
Station chief Tal Lev Ram called the decision “a real, regrettable, and dramatic blow to the people’s army, to Israeli society, and to freedom of the press in a democratic state,” vowing to fight it by every means.
This is not happening in isolation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has long accused Army Radio and public broadcaster KAN of left-wing bias. Pro-government outlets like Channel 14, which are often compared to Fox News, have surged in influence.
