Israeli government announces boycott of Haaretz newspaper over claims it supports ‘enemies’
December 30, 2025
Middle East Monitor
Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem [Noam Moskowitz – Knesset – Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
For the first time since the establishment of the State of Israel, the government has announced a boycott of the newspaper Haaretz, accusing it of supporting “enemies” during wartime.
According to Galei Tzahal, the government has decided to sever ties with Haaretz in both advertising and editorial matters. Ministries, advertising agencies and state-funded companies have been instructed to halt all forms of contact with the newspaper.
An Israeli radio report said the boycott was implemented under a government decision issued in November 2024, which also called for isolating the newspaper from communication with official accounts of senior media offices within the Israeli army.
In a statement, the Israeli government said Haaretz had published editorials during the war on Gaza that “damaged the legitimacy of the State of Israel in the world and its right to self-defence”.
The statement said the government “will not accept a situation in which the publisher of an official newspaper in Israel calls for sanctions against it and supports the enemies of the state in the midst of war”. On this basis, it said all ties with the newspaper would be cut and no official statements would be issued through it.
The move comes about a month after the Knesset approved, in a first reading, a bill imposing new restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression, according to Yediot Aharonot.
The Hebrew-language daily reported that the bill, titled “Reforming the Media System”, was submitted by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and passed its initial vote in the Knesset plenum.
The legislation expands the powers of rabbinical courts at the expense of the authority of Israel’s attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, who opposed the bill. She warned that it “includes arrangements that exacerbate the risks to the image of a free press in Israel”.
“There is genuine concern about significant commercial and political influence and interference in the work of media institutions,” she said.
Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem [Noam Moskowitz – Knesset – Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
For the first time since the establishment of the State of Israel, the government has announced a boycott of the newspaper Haaretz, accusing it of supporting “enemies” during wartime.
According to Galei Tzahal, the government has decided to sever ties with Haaretz in both advertising and editorial matters. Ministries, advertising agencies and state-funded companies have been instructed to halt all forms of contact with the newspaper.
An Israeli radio report said the boycott was implemented under a government decision issued in November 2024, which also called for isolating the newspaper from communication with official accounts of senior media offices within the Israeli army.
In a statement, the Israeli government said Haaretz had published editorials during the war on Gaza that “damaged the legitimacy of the State of Israel in the world and its right to self-defence”.
The statement said the government “will not accept a situation in which the publisher of an official newspaper in Israel calls for sanctions against it and supports the enemies of the state in the midst of war”. On this basis, it said all ties with the newspaper would be cut and no official statements would be issued through it.
The move comes about a month after the Knesset approved, in a first reading, a bill imposing new restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression, according to Yediot Aharonot.
The Hebrew-language daily reported that the bill, titled “Reforming the Media System”, was submitted by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and passed its initial vote in the Knesset plenum.
The legislation expands the powers of rabbinical courts at the expense of the authority of Israel’s attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, who opposed the bill. She warned that it “includes arrangements that exacerbate the risks to the image of a free press in Israel”.
“There is genuine concern about significant commercial and political influence and interference in the work of media institutions,” she said.
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