Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday announced that he would not shut down or privatize Army Radio, despite several years of announcements by successive governments and the Israel Defense Forces that they intend to do so, and instead implement major changes and appoint a permanent commander “with a military background.”
Gallant’s office said the minister accepted the recommendations of an advisory panel established to investigate the station’s continued operation. Gallant’s position was submitted to the attorney general ahead of a High Court discussion on the matter in October.
Gallant’s position on Army Radio clashes with those of former IDF chiefs of staff, and current military head Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who believe the station should be removed from the purview of the military and the Defense Ministry.
“In accordance with the committee’s recommendation, the defense minister decided to leave Army Radio in its current organizational position, as a military unit organizationally subordinate to the head of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate,” the ministry said in a statement.
“In addition, the minister decided to adopt the central recommendation of the committee, to make a significant change in the mix of the station’s broadcasts,” the ministry said.
The changes would see the station reducing the number of soldiers involved in political coverage while increasing the number of those involved in covering military and social matters.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant arrives for a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem on September 10, 2023 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
“The connection between the station’s activities and the IDF soldiers — the station’s original target audience — will be strengthened,” the ministry said.
“The number of broadcast hours of content dealing with Zionism, war heritage, the Hebrew language, culture, music and more will be significantly increased. These programs will be a main anchor in the broadcast schedule, and will be slotted into broadcast hours with high percentages of listeners,” it added.
Gallant’s office said the minister aims to appoint a permanent head for the station, a person “with a military background,” following years of interim civilian commanders amid Army Radio’s uncertain future.
“The continuation of the station’s function as a military unit, alongside implementing content dealing with the defense establishment and relevant to IDF soldiers, requires a permanent station commander with a significant military background, in command positions, and with proven experience with the general military system,” Gallant’s office said.
The decision comes over two years after then-defense minister Benny Gantz announced a plan to separate Army Radio from the IDF, a move that had long been expected but was repeatedly delayed so as to avoid shuttering the station for good.
The Attorney General’s Office at the time said Gantz and the IDF lacked the authority to shutter Army Radio on their own, and that instead, a Knesset bill would be the best method for approving such a move.
The entrance to Army Radio’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, June 2, 2023. (Omer Fichman/Flash90)
In January, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said Army Radio was superfluous and that he aimed to shutter it along with the Kan public broadcaster.
The military’s operating and funding of a radio station with journalists responsible for investigating the IDF itself as well as politicians has long been considered anachronistic, expensive, and an ethical minefield.
The station’s position as a media outlet has therefore always been an uneasy one, functioning simultaneously, and sometimes discordantly, as an independent news organization that seeks to critique the government as well as an arm of the Israeli military dedicated to covering the troops and furthering the narrative of the military as an area of national consensus.
Army Radio — one of the most listened-to news stations in the country — is staffed by a mix of young soldiers and seasoned journalists.
