anat kamm

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Merkel at a joint press conference in Berlin, February 16, 2016. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Fact-checking Netanyahu: A week full of truthiness

From surreal exaggerations to outright lies, Netanyahu dished up another batch of nonsense utterings to a foreign audience in Berlin this week. We picked three of the best and broke them down for you. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has something of a track record of saving his most nonsensical and demonstrably false statements for foreign…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland February 17, 2016

Avraham 'Avera' Mengistu (Facebook)

Archaic gag order lifted: Two Israeli civilians being held in Gaza

This is the third time in five years — that we can discuss — in which Israeli authorities have tried to use comprehensive gag orders to stop the publication of stories of public interest. This also is the third time that the Internet has made a mockery of such efforts to control information. A 28-year-old…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man July 9, 2015

Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, Jerusalem 2009 (Eileen Fleming CC BY-3.0)

Israel renews restrictions on nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu

Despite serving 18 years in prison, including 11 in solitary confinement, Vanunu is forbidden from traveling and speaking to the media. Recently, he was denied a permit to speak before the British Parliament, following an invitation by 54 MPs. The Israeli interior minister and the IDF Central Command have decided to extend restrictions on nuclear…

By Noam Sheizaf June 1, 2014

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Ben Zygier, alleged Mossad Agent who was found dead in his cell in 2010 (photo: ABC Australia)

Press freedom in Israel: Democracy in the age of self-censorship

More worrying than the institutional instruments that enable censorship are the multiple forms of self-censorship that are deeply ingrained in the journalistic practices and conventions of Israeli media. By Ido Liven As the Hebrew proverb goes, “be a tail among lions rather than a head among foxes.” In Freedom House’s latest report, Israel’s state of press…

By +972 Magazine May 7, 2013

Former Mossad head Meir Dagan (R) with former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi (L) (Photo: Israel Defense Forces, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

‘Prisoner X’ and the security elite’s unchecked power

Recent actions taken by the heads of the army, Mossad and the internal security service (Shin Bet) reveal the Israeli security establishment’s unsupervised power, and the way it directs that power at the country’s own citizens and elected officials. These are the main details which have been made public in the affair of Ben Zygier,…

By Noam Sheizaf February 18, 2013

Journalist Uri Blau to stand trial for holding leaked documents

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein announced on Wednesday his intention to indict Uri Blau, one of Israel’s top investigative reporters, for possession of classified materials without permission. The materials in question are documents given to Blau by whistleblower Anat Kamm; Kamm, then a conscript clerk in the office of GOC Central Command, copied them from the…

By Dimi Reider May 30, 2012

DimiReider, DimiR

WATCH: New York Times and Al Jazeera commentary on Anat Kamm

I have a brief op-ed up on the New York Times and in today’s International Herald Tribune, discussing the repercussions of Anat Kamm’s sentence. One of the things I wanted to highlight is the highly disturbing insinuation reflected in the decision to prosecute Kamm on the charges of espionage. Does that mean that informing the public…

By Dimi Reider November 2, 2011

Condemnation of Kamm post-sentencing reflects country’s mood

Talkbackers call Anat Kamm, who was sentenced to four and a half years jail time and 18 months’ probation, a “traitor” and say she should spend life in prison, reflecting Israel’s march to the right. And though it seems as though Kamm’s case has come to a close, questions remain. Sunday morning, Anat Kamm—the former…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat October 30, 2011

Court sentences IDF whistleblower Anat Kamm to 4.5 years

This post has been updated. The Tel Aviv District court has sentenced Anat Kamm to four and a half years in prison. The sentence writes the final line in a campaign of scapegoating that has already caused deep and lasting damage to independent Israeli journalism. Anat Kamm, the journalist who leaked over a thousands pages…

By Dimi Reider October 29, 2011

Anat Kamm, Tel Aviv District Court (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

TIMELINE: The Anat Kamm affair

In the spring of 2010, it emerged that a young journalist had been under house arrest for several months for leaking documents that led to the publication of an investigative report on IDF misconduct. Thanks to an unprecedented media blackout, the case made headlines around the world. Anat Kamm, who was originally sentenced to four-and-a-half…

By Noa Yachot October 28, 2011

URGENT: Journalists’ petition against the prosecution of Uri Blau

[Please scroll down for the actual petition – everything preceding it is my own commentary]. Earlier this week, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein informed Haaretz reporter Uri Blau he will hold a hearing for him at the end of the month, to decide whether to put him on trial. This step would have disastrous ramifications for…

By Dimi Reider May 7, 2011

Israeli Wikileaks: Journalists demand not to try Haaretz reporter

Israel’s Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has summoned Haaretz journalist Uri Blau to a formal hearing – the last procedural step before prosecuting Blau in a criminal court. The 7th eye website reports [Hebrew] that the hearing will take place towards the end of the month. Last March, The Tel Aviv Office for the General Prosecution…

By Noam Sheizaf May 3, 2011

Incitement and violence: A week on Israel’s slippery slope

How much farther down can we slide? Oh, I fear there’s still a long way down from here. After all, so far, our skin heads and settlers only beat up Arabs. Lots more to look forward to, no? By Dror Feuer | Published originally on Globes, translated from Hebrew and linked by Shir Harel. A.…

By +972 Magazine April 2, 2011