Israel Police and Communications Ministry personnel raided the broadcasting ship of Arutz-7 Israel National Radio this afternoon halting the station's signal for over an hour. The ship's captain was warned not to resume transmission of the radio signal. The raid began at 1 PM, just as the newsmagazine hour was about to begin, and ended approximately 2:15. The police photographed equipment and workers, but confiscated nothing. Reports on Israel Radio that the police found only one person on board - the captain - are groundless, and in fact there were close to ten crew members on board at the time.
Arutz-7 management noted that this was the first time in the history of Israeli off-shore broadcasting - including 22 years of Abie Natan's Voice of Peace ship, and 15 years for Arutz-7 - that police had ever made such an off-shore raid. "Not under the governments of Yitzchak Rabin, Shimon Peres, or Ehud Barak were police ever sent to raid a ship broadcasting from sea," the station said. Arutz-7 broadcasts from outside of Israel's territorial waters to circumvent stringent broadcast legislation which severely limits and prohibits privately-owned radio stations from airing. A law that was passed by a Knesset majority granting Arutz-7 a broadcasting license was recently overturned by the Supreme Court.
Condemnations of the blow against freedom of speech came only from right-wing politicians. Communications Minister Ruby Rivlin of the Likud is furious at the raid, citing in particular its timing during an election season. The Council for Jewish Towns in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza called upon Public Security Minister Uzi Landau (while the raid was underway) to renew at once the broadcasts on Arutz-7, "which is a national and patriotic mouthpiece, especially during this period, for the struggle to maintain Israel's territorial integrity." The Israel Police are under the ministerial supervision of Landau. Urgent inquiries to the office of Minister Landau from Arutz-7 this afternoon went unanswered.
National Union Party Chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman said that the raid is "nothing more than political scheming, based on election-campaign considerations and as revenge for Arutz-7's clear policy against a Palestinian state." His party colleagues also commented: MK Tzvi Hendel said that this is a case of "political persecution on the eve of elections," and demanded that Communications Minister Rivlin open an immediate investigation into how this occurred. MK Uri Ariel said that the raid is an attempt to "shut mouths." MK Benny Elon said that the authorities of the Supreme Court - which put a freeze on a duly-passed Knesset law legalizing Arutz-7 - must be curtailed "in order to prevent it from making a mockery of Israel's democracy."
Blame for the raid is already being freely apportioned. The police say that the Communications Ministry ordered the raid as part of its efforts against unlicensed stations. The Communications Ministry, however, says that the raid came in response to Elections Committee head Hon. Michael Cheshin's call to ensure that unlicensed stations do not broadcast election propaganda. Arutz-7 announced in response that it is more careful not to allow its interviewers and interviewees to speak on behalf of specific parties than are Israel's public stations.
Arutz-7 management noted that this was the first time in the history of Israeli off-shore broadcasting - including 22 years of Abie Natan's Voice of Peace ship, and 15 years for Arutz-7 - that police had ever made such an off-shore raid. "Not under the governments of Yitzchak Rabin, Shimon Peres, or Ehud Barak were police ever sent to raid a ship broadcasting from sea," the station said. Arutz-7 broadcasts from outside of Israel's territorial waters to circumvent stringent broadcast legislation which severely limits and prohibits privately-owned radio stations from airing. A law that was passed by a Knesset majority granting Arutz-7 a broadcasting license was recently overturned by the Supreme Court.
Condemnations of the blow against freedom of speech came only from right-wing politicians. Communications Minister Ruby Rivlin of the Likud is furious at the raid, citing in particular its timing during an election season. The Council for Jewish Towns in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza called upon Public Security Minister Uzi Landau (while the raid was underway) to renew at once the broadcasts on Arutz-7, "which is a national and patriotic mouthpiece, especially during this period, for the struggle to maintain Israel's territorial integrity." The Israel Police are under the ministerial supervision of Landau. Urgent inquiries to the office of Minister Landau from Arutz-7 this afternoon went unanswered.
National Union Party Chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman said that the raid is "nothing more than political scheming, based on election-campaign considerations and as revenge for Arutz-7's clear policy against a Palestinian state." His party colleagues also commented: MK Tzvi Hendel said that this is a case of "political persecution on the eve of elections," and demanded that Communications Minister Rivlin open an immediate investigation into how this occurred. MK Uri Ariel said that the raid is an attempt to "shut mouths." MK Benny Elon said that the authorities of the Supreme Court - which put a freeze on a duly-passed Knesset law legalizing Arutz-7 - must be curtailed "in order to prevent it from making a mockery of Israel's democracy."
Blame for the raid is already being freely apportioned. The police say that the Communications Ministry ordered the raid as part of its efforts against unlicensed stations. The Communications Ministry, however, says that the raid came in response to Elections Committee head Hon. Michael Cheshin's call to ensure that unlicensed stations do not broadcast election propaganda. Arutz-7 announced in response that it is more careful not to allow its interviewers and interviewees to speak on behalf of specific parties than are Israel's public stations.