The Seventh Eye

Workers at the Al Jazeera offices in Jerusalem, June 13, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Will Israel shut down Al Jazeera?

The government is advancing regulations to close the network's Israel branch, a move journalists and free press defenders decry as baseless and dangerous.

By Oren Persico and The Seventh Eye November 1, 2023

A man passes out the free daily newspaper Israel HaYom to passersby on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem on February 6, 2015. (Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)

How a pro-Bibi paper tilted Israeli voters to the right

The billionaire-funded daily Israel Hayom helped boost the right-wing bloc by two Knesset seats over three elections, a new study finds.

By Oren Persico and The Seventh Eye September 14, 2020

A composite image showing fake testimonies in support of Benjamin Netanyahu, posted on Facebook. (Courtesy of The Seventh Eye

‘Leftists for Bibi’? Deepfake pro-Netanyahu propaganda exposed

According to a series of Facebook posts, the Israeli prime minister is winning over left-wing followers — except that none of the people in question exist.

By Itamar Benzaquen and The Seventh Eye August 12, 2020

Latest

Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Fountain Hills, Arizona, before the March 22 primary. (Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0)

How ‘Israel Hayom’ became Trump’s mouthpiece in the Middle East

Sheldon and Miriam Adelson are major donors to the Republican party and to Donald Trump’s presidency. In Israel, their free daily newspaper Israel Hayom promotes Trump relentlessly, with fawning editorials and selective reporting, which minimizes the scandals that have plagued his presidency. By Refael Afriat When Israel Hayom, now the most widely-read newspaper in Israel, was…

By The Seventh Eye October 21, 2019

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media at the Knesset, in Jerusalem on May 30, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Behind Netanyahu’s scorched earth campaign against Israel’s media

Just one week out from the second national elections in six months, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s relationship with the Israeli media seems to be at an all-time low. But are his ferocious attacks on the press all they seem? In the final stretches of Israel’s second election campaign in six months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tried-and-tested tactic…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland September 9, 2019

Illustrative photo of a man reading "Israel Hayom," the Sheldon Adelson-funded newspaper (Moshe Shai/FLASH90).

An end to ‘apartheid polls’ in Israeli media?

Jews-only polls on matters relevant to the entire Israeli public and polls that present Jews-only polls as representing the views of the entire Israeli public constitute discrimination against the country’s Arab population, Israeli Press Council’s Ethics Court rules. By Oren Persico Excluding Israel’s Arab population from public opinion polls on matters of politics and policy…

By The Seventh Eye May 30, 2018

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Chief of Police Roni Alsheikh attend a ceremony for Israeli police at the Police National College, Bet Shemesh, September 22, 2016. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Challenging Israel’s secret information warfare campaign

Israel’s government is outsourcing ‘mass consciousness activities’ to private organizations, unaccountable to the public. A legal challenge in the High Court aims to stop it. By Itamar Benzaquen Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs is carrying out a global propaganda campaign on behalf of the Israeli government that violates human rights and is acting without authority to do…

By The Seventh Eye May 2, 2018

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, April 3, 2017. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Explained: What’s the story with Netanyahu and the media?

The editor of Israeli media watchdog The Seventh Eye, Shuki Tausig, explains the current scandals involving Netanyahu and the media, and what they mean for journalism and democracy in Israel. The Israeli media is often lauded by outsiders as fierce and independent, often in order to demonstrate the ostensible strength of the country’s democracy. But…

By +972 Magazine April 3, 2017

Illustrative photo of an interview with a Palestinian citizen of Israel. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Public campaign to increase Arab voices in the media makes its mark

A project aimed at increasing Arab representation in the Israeli media has made rapid gains, using public pressure and hard data. By Edan Ring Regular followers of the news on Israeli television and radio are unlikely to have missed a significant change that has been taking place over the last few months. More and more Arab interviewees…

By +972 Magazine December 6, 2016

Im Tirzu activist fitting himself into a student protest in TAU for the release of Hana Shalabi (Oren Ziv / Activestills)

Supreme Court: ‘Fascist’ Im Tirzu case had no standing

Supreme Court rules that the right-wing ‘Im Tirzu’ movement had no basis to sue a group of Facebook activists who labeled it ‘fascist.’ By Oren Persico “It pains me to say so, but this suit contradicts this court’s fundamentals regarding the scope of freedom of speech, whereas we are speaking of the heart of the…

By The Seventh Eye July 16, 2015