Israel moves to shut down local operations of Al Jazeera

[webfact]

Israel moves to shut down local operations of Al Jazeera

By Ori Lewis

 

FILE PHOTO - An employee walks inside an office of Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network in Jerusalem June 13, 2017. Picture taken June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

 

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel plans to revoke the media credentials of Al Jazeera TV journalists, close its Jerusalem bureau and pull the Qatar-based station's broadcasts from local cable and satellite providers, Communications Minister Ayoub Kara said on Sunday.

 

The closure did not appear imminent, however, and an Israeli official said a legal process was still required to implement most of the proposed steps.

 

Kara said the measures were intended to bolster Israel's secuity and "to bring a situation that channels based in Israel will report objectively".

 

There was no immediate comment from Al Jazeera headquarters in Qatar but journalists working for the station in Israel said they did not expect imminent moves against them.

 

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would work to shut the network's offices in Israel, accusing it of inciting violence in Jerusalem, including over an Old City site that is holy to both Muslims and Jews.

 

Kara said he would ask the Government Press Office to revoke the accreditation of Al Jazeera's journalists in Israel, where it has about 30 staff. Cable and satellite providers have expressed their willingness to turn off its broadcasts, he said.

 

Kara added that he had asked Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan to use his powers to close the station's offices in Israel, although a spokesman for Erdan said he doubted the minister had the authority to do so.

 

"Our ministry is not the address. Try the police," spokesman Daniel Bar said.

 

Asked if shutting down Al Jazeera's operations would make Israel appear to oppose freedom of the press, an official close to the prime minister said the country accepted diverse opinions but not incitement.

 

"The prime minister is not too pleased with the constant incitement that you see and hear on Al Jazeera, a lot of it in Arabic. There is a lot being broadcast on that channel that is frankly dangerous," the official said.

 

"There is no shortage of free speech in this country. There are plenty of dissenting voices. In democratic countries there are also things that are unacceptable, and a lot of what Al Jazeera is saying and broadcasting falls into that category."

 

In his news conference, to which Al Jazeera was not invited, Kara said steps had to be taken against "media, which has been determined by almost all Arab countries to actually be a supporter of terror, and we know this for certain."

 

"We have identified media outlets that do not serve freedom of speech but endanger the security of Israel's citizens, and the main instrument has been Al Jazeera," Kara said.

 

He was referring to recent violence in and around a Jerusalem site that is revered by Muslims and Jews in which six Palestinians and five Israelis, including two policemen, were killed.

 

Al Jazeera said in July it would take all necessary legal measures if Israel acts on its threat. It said Israel was aligning itself with four Arab states that have severed diplomatic and commercial ties with Qatar.

 

The Foreign Press Association in Israel criticised the planned moves.

 

"Changing the law in order to shut down a media organisation for political reasons is a slippery slope," association executive secretary Glenys Sugarman said.

 

Al Jazeera has also faced government censure in Egypt. In 2014, Egypt jailed three of the network's staffers for seven years and closed its offices. Two staffers have been released but a third remains imprisoned.

 

(Writing by Ori Lewis, Additional reporting by Dan Williams and Luke Baker, editing by Angus MacSwan)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-07

 

[ezzra]

And not a moment too soon, what other country will allow a TV station to set up base and broadcast items that are detrimental to the security of that country coupled with half truth and bias, one sided reporting of the so called 'News'? and not even in the name of democracy and the right for a free speech.... not even other Arab country like Al Jazeera's agendas....

[piersbeckett]

Well it isn't shut down yet and even if no other country would allow Al Jazeera's degree of 'telling it how it is as they see it', in their news reporting, that doesn't make it wrong in principle.

 

I know you've a great deal of posts under your belt and an immense amount of 'likes' but you sound far from unbiased to me.

 

No offence intended.

[tonray]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

And not a moment too soon, what other country will allow a TV station to set up base and broadcast items that are detrimental to the security of that country coupled with half truth and bias, one sided reporting of the so called 'News'? and not even in the name of democracy and the right for a free speech.... not even other Arab country like Al Jazeera's agendas....

I agree...and it's about time we shut down Fox News for good.

[impulse]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

...not even other Arab country like Al Jazeera's agendas....

 

There's a lot going on that they don't want reported.  It's the same with every government in every country- some more than others.  But I still like to get the AlJ side of it.  Like the Reuters side, the CNN side, the RT side and the China Daily side.  Watch them all and form my own judgment.  That's how things that need to be changed get out there.

 

For some reason, even I can't stomach the Fox side...  I've tried, really I have.

 

 

Edited August 7, 2017 by impulse

[ilostmypassword]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

And not a moment too soon, what other country will allow a TV station to set up base and broadcast items that are detrimental to the security of that country coupled with half truth and bias, one sided reporting of the so called 'News'? and not even in the name of democracy and the right for a free speech.... not even other Arab country like Al Jazeera's agendas....

The USA comes to mind.

[ezzra]

As i expected that members will react with you're being unfair and the truth

has to be told etc. ect. but this is the thing, try to have a station like that

say in China or Thailand or Russia and see what will happen to them,

do i really need to paint a picture here? there's truth, and there's truth,

and the truth paid by a country that doesn't recognize Israel right to exist,

well, that's said it all.... 

[Thorgal]

Looks like the Muslim 'voice' may not count in the Old City. History repeats...


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[impulse]

26 minutes ago, ezzra said:

try to have a station like that

say in China or Thailand or Russia and see what will happen to them,

 

Certainly, you're not holding those countries out as beacons of free speech.

 

[retarius]

Another nail in the coffin of this sick apartheid society.

[iReason]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

...but this is the thing, try to have a station like that

say in China or Thailand or Russia and see what will happen to them,

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/thailand.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/07/escaping-clutches-sex-trafficking-thailand-170730071208339.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/thailand-60000-workers-flee-labour-laws-170703065936362.html

https://www.booking.com/hotel/th/aljazeera-amp-restaurant.html

https://foursquare.com/v/al-jazeera-office-bangkok/5236f6a311d2adcda0f3bd89

[Machiavelli]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

As i expected that members will react with you're being unfair and the truth

has to be told etc. ect. but this is the thing, try to have a station like that

say in China or Thailand or Russia and see what will happen to them,

do i really need to paint a picture here? there's truth, and there's truth,

and the truth paid by a country that doesn't recognize Israel right to exist,

well, that's said it all.... 

 

11 minutes ago, iReason said:

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/thailand.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/07/escaping-clutches-sex-trafficking-thailand-170730071208339.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/thailand-60000-workers-flee-labour-laws-170703065936362.html

https://www.booking.com/hotel/th/aljazeera-amp-restaurant.html

https://foursquare.com/v/al-jazeera-office-bangkok/5236f6a311d2adcda0f3bd89

Like a boss. 

[DaddyWarbucks]

The radical Zionists are shooting themselves in the foot again.

The whole world is against them now.

 

 

[Spike1938]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

And not a moment too soon, what other country will allow a TV station to set up base and broadcast items that are detrimental to the security of that country coupled with half truth and bias, one sided reporting of the so called 'News'? and not even in the name of democracy and the right for a free speech.... not even other Arab country like Al Jazeera's agendas....

The USA. They allow Fox News to promulgate lies and distortions by the likes of Hannity and others. No thought of shutting them down.

[tonray]

3 minutes ago, Spike1938 said:

The USA. They allow Fox News to promulgate lies and distortions by the likes of Hannity and others. No thought of shutting them down.

To be fair, I have thought about it. 

[nasanews]

And they say Israel is democratic country!

[Rancid]

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

As i expected that members will react with you're being unfair and the truth

has to be told etc. ect. but this is the thing, try to have a station like that

say in China or Thailand or Russia and see what will happen to them,

do i really need to paint a picture here? there's truth, and there's truth,

and the truth paid by a country that doesn't recognize Israel right to exist,

well, that's said it all.... 

Well, first thing you need to get past is believing that any news services tell the truth, they all simply massage the message they want to send. People don't even tell the truth as such, I don't tell the truth, I simply convey my interpretation of events from my perspective. Other don't even do that, they just parrot back what they saw on the news.

 

That aside CNN is notorious for outright lying, yet is broadcast worldwide. Aljazeera was regarded as fine until they broke ranks with the Saudis and got too friendly with Iran, now they are pariahs to the Israel/Sunni alliance. You may recall that ISIS are in fact Sunnis...

[ilostmypassword]

"He [Netanyahu] also accused the channel of incitement; however, his office declined to give specific examples of content it deemed to have stoked tensions." 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-plans-to-shut-down-al-jazeera-office-says-thatdemocracy-has-limits/2017/08/06/cdc7a32c-7ab4-11e7-b2b1-aeba62854dfa_story.html?utm_term=.3480b9503754&wpisrc=nl_todayworld&wpmm=1

[puck2]

31 minutes ago, Rancid said:

Well, first thing you need to get past is believing that any news services tell the truth, they all simply massage the message they want to send. People don't even tell the truth as such, I don't tell the truth, I simply convey my interpretation of events from my perspective. Other don't even do that, they just parrot back what they saw on the news.

 

That aside CNN is notorious for outright lying, yet is broadcast worldwide. Aljazeera was regarded as fine until they broke ranks with the Saudis and got too friendly with Iran, now they are pariahs to the Israel/Sunni alliance. You may recall that ISIS are in fact Sunnis...

....."I simply convey my interpretation of events from my perspective" .....

 

I try to do the same .... being critical against medias, reading more than one, especially with an opposite background. No (media-)agency, no person (including the "infallible" pope) is free of influence. They all have a special directive, be it conservative, liberal, socialist and worst religious or nationalistic.

 

I didn't watch Al Jazeera for some time. But l liked it 100-times more than Fox, i..e. a lot more reliable.

 

Edited August 7, 2017 by puck2

[losworld]

Not surprising coming from one of the world's most xenophobic racist countries.  So much for freedom of the press.

[pegman]

1 hour ago, retarius said:

Another nail in the coffin of this sick apartheid society.

Let us hope. Presently Bibi looks like he is about to be taken down for corruption. That won't matter because it is a majority of their voting public who will continue electing apartheid polititions. 

As for unbiased reporting what would that look like to a Zionist? 

[Morch]

More political posturing from Netanyahu's side. As the article linked bellow will show, quite a few hurdles present, regardless of right wing politicians' BS:

 

Banning Al Jazeera in Israel Won't Be So Easy. Here's Why

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.805486

 

Those interested in more than the usual dose of bashing will take heed of current political context. Netanyahu suffering some political setbacks (Temple mount, police investigations) pushes him to bolster support from base and partners. Playing Mr. Security is one way to do it. Worth noting that on many occasions, things don't go beyond tough sounding statements. For example, this wouldn't be the first time Netanyahu tried playing the Al-Jazeera card. and as most can discern, AJ is still broadcasting from Israel.

 

Those going on about Freedom of Speech, or Freedom of the Press may do well to consider that not all countries practice similar levels of such, which doesn't turn any supposed infraction into the hyperbole suggested. A further consideration may be that AJ is not quite a great representative of "free press", but a media outlet owned by Qatar's government - without total editorial freedom.

[Asiantravel]

2 hours ago, retarius said:

Another nail in the coffin of this sick apartheid society.

 

and all because someone asked who exactly owns the US Federal Reserve Central bank (because  even that question now is considered anti-Semitic)

[Morch]

3 hours ago, Thorgal said:

Looks like the Muslim 'voice' may not count in the Old City. History repeats...


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

 

Al Jazeera is the Muslim voice? Do Muslims speak in one voice?

 

 

[Morch]

2 hours ago, retarius said:

Another nail in the coffin of this sick apartheid society.

 

May want to have a clue who's the minister quoted in the OP

 

Ayoob Kara

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayoob_Kara

[Morch]

1 hour ago, DaddyWarbucks said:

The radical Zionists are shooting themselves in the foot again.

The whole world is against them now.

 

 

 

Agree with the first line of your post.

The second, however, is more of the usual wishful thinking.

 

[Morch]

1 hour ago, nasanews said:

And they say Israel is democratic country!

 

Democracy is a matter of degree. Israel is not as democratic as some Western countries are, but more so than many others.

 

[DaddyWarbucks]

1 minute ago, Morch said:

 

Agree with the first line of your post.

The second, however, is more of the usual wishful thinking.

 

No, it's not wishful thinking, it's an obvious fact. 

 

[Morch]

58 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

"He [Netanyahu] also accused the channel of incitement; however, his office declined to give specific examples of content it deemed to have stoked tensions." 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-plans-to-shut-down-al-jazeera-office-says-thatdemocracy-has-limits/2017/08/06/cdc7a32c-7ab4-11e7-b2b1-aeba62854dfa_story.html?utm_term=.3480b9503754&wpisrc=nl_todayworld&wpmm=1

 

If one follows AJ's coverage of events on the Arabic edition, the issues of bias and incitement are much clearer. I imagine most posters (and indeed, most Westerners) are more familiar with the English edition, which is more balanced.

 

That the PM's office declined to directly engage on specific examples is not, IMO, very meaningful as far as substance goes. This will be saved for later on, if and when the actual process of banning the channel will start. While I have no doubts as to AJ's engaging in such coverage as claimed, it remains to be seen (again, if anything comes out of it) if it will satisfy the legal requirements for taking action.

[Morch]

5 minutes ago, DaddyWarbucks said:

No, it's not wishful thinking, it's an obvious fact. 

 

Which you will be hard pressed to demonstrate in any meaningful manner.

Most countries engage Israel diplomatically, economically and culturally. Sorry if that doesn't fit your fantasy.