The Media Line: Israel’s Defense Minister Katz Shuts Down Army Radio Citing Harm to Morale, War Effort  

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

Israel’s Defense Minister Katz Shuts Down Army Radio Citing Harm to Morale, War Effort  

By The Media Line Staff 

Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, announced on Wednesday that the military’s radio station, Galei Tzahal, will be shut down, ending 75 years of broadcasts by March 1, 2026. Katz said he will soon submit a formal proposal to the government for approval to carry out the closure.  

Explaining the move, Katz said the station had strayed far from its founding purpose as a service for IDF soldiers and their families and added, “The station has harmed the war effort and morale.”  

“The Army Radio was created as the voice and ear of the military—not as a platform for commentary that attacks the IDF and its soldiers. Its continued operation drags the army into political discourse and damages its character as the people’s army.”  

Katz argued that maintaining a civilian news outlet under military control was “an anomaly without parallel in any democratic country.” He said the closure would help restore public trust in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) by keeping it separate from political debate.  

Following the decision, Katz said a professional team will be formed within the Defense Ministry to oversee the shutdown and to assist civilian employees at the station in transitioning out of their roles with full protection of their rights. The team will also examine ways to preserve the Galgalatz music and traffic station, maintaining its focus on promoting road safety awareness in keeping with its original purpose.  

Critics from across the opposition condemned the move as an attack on Israel’s free press. MK Yair Golan of the Democrats accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to silence critical media voices. “Netanyahu wants to shut down outlets that discuss the commission of inquiry and Qatar money,” he said. “We will defend … investigative journalism.”  

MK Gilad Kariv of the Labor Party called the decision “a direct assault on press freedom and a disgraceful attempt to weaken democratic discourse.” He claimed Katz was spreading lies about the station’s journalists and warned that its broadcast frequencies could soon be transferred to businessmen tied to Likud.  

If approved, the closure will mark a major change in Israel’s media landscape, ending the military’s direct role in public broadcasting after more than seven decades.