government press office

A crowd of journalists stands in front of the Separation Wall during a protest for Land Day, held in front of the Qalandiya checkpoint, West Bank, March 30, 2013. Land Day commemorates the death of six Palestinian protesters at the hands of Israeli forces during mass demonstrations in 1976 against plans to confiscate Palestinian land in northern Israel. (Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Israeli body that accredits journalists honored for propaganda

The official Israeli government body that accredits journalists has just been honored by the country’s PR association for enhancing Israel’s image abroad. Anyone who values an independent and free press should be alarmed. The government bureau responsible for accrediting journalists in Israel was honored last month by Israel’s association of public relations professionals for its work…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man October 4, 2017

Illustrative photo of journalists at a demonstration at Qalandia. (Photo by Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Israel expels Dutch journalist after he tweets +972 articles

The Israeli government office responsible for accrediting journalists takes issue with a foreign correspondent sharing +972 Magazine articles on social media, publishing critical stories, refuses to renew his visa. Israel’s Government Press Office has refused to renew the media accreditation for Derk Walters, a Dutch journalist who has been reporting from Israel-Palestine since 2014. Walters is the…

By Lisa Goldman May 4, 2017

Israeli soldiers confiscate equipment from the A-Sanabel radio station, Dura, West Bank, August 31, 2016. (IDF Spokesperson)

IDF shuts down Palestinian radio station — but won’t explain why

The Israeli army shuts down the West Bank-based ‘A-Sanabel,’ claiming it incites against Israelis without so much as providing any evidence. Such is life under a military regime. The Israeli army shut down Palestinian radio station A-Sanabel in the early hours of Wednesday morning, arresting five of employees and confiscating equipment. According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit,…

By Haggai Matar September 1, 2016

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Illustrative photo by Shutterstock.com

A letter to our readers: On censorship

From military censorship to the government deciding who is and isn’t a journalist, Israeli authorities use various tools to interfere with the press. An important disclosure to our readers. When +972 Magazine was formed by a group of journalists and bloggers over five years ago, its founders decided that the site would not have an…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man February 15, 2016

Israeli border policemen arrest AP photographer, Majdi Mohammed, during a protest against the Israel occupation in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, December 2, 2011. (Oren Ziv/ Activestills.org)

Editorial: Demanding freedom of movement and access for Palestinian journalists

Palestinian journalists have published a petition aimed at pressuring Israel to grant them full freedom of movement and access in order to do their jobs, just as it allows Israeli journalists to work freely in Israel and Palestine. We at +972 support their petition and call on all of our Israeli and international colleagues to…

By +972 Magazine August 5, 2013

Government Press Office doing PR for the settler movement

It seems that every state agency in Israel is becoming a tool in the effort to further colonize the West Bank and deepen the control over the lives of Palestinians. Soon after the government reached an internal “deal” with the settler movement that would keep the families who settled in a so-called “illegal” outpost on the…

By Noam Sheizaf January 13, 2012

A security guard for a private agency in Beirut (photo: Lisa Goldman)

‘Bra-gate’: eyewitness account of humiliation at a media event

Last week Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – via Israel’s Government Press Office (GPO) – hosted a reception for international correspondents at Jerusalem’s David’s Citadel Hotel. I attended the event. The media were treated to an assortment of wine and hors d’oeuvres, a musical interlude performed by new immigrants, and then an address by the prime…

By Roee Ruttenberg January 17, 2011