Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced Jan. 21 that he plans to remove Army Radio from the auspices of the Ministry of Defense and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). In his statement, Gantz indicated that he plans to transfer the radio station to some other, independent body or even to shut it down entirely.

IDF Army Radio is a station devoted to regular newscasts and news shows, interspersed with current events, culture and music. It employs entire teams of journalists, editors and commentators, most of them soldiers on their mandatory service. Only a handful of its staff are civilian journalists.

The station was established by Prime Minister David Ben Gurion in 1950. One of its stated purposes at the time was to serve as an efficient means of communication between the regular army and the reserve forces. It was also intended to be an educational tool for young people and the population in general, and a means of helping to absorb new immigrants and instill in them a knowledge of the Hebrew language and the country’s geography. Over the years, Army Radio expanded its activity. In the 1970s, it began broadcasting current event shows. 

There is an inherent conflict of interests between a staff consisting mainly of soldiers in regular service and thereby required to maintain neutrality in all political issues and the responsibility to cover the news, including elections and other political activity. The conflict made headlines on more than one occasion. In the past, several chiefs of staff and defense ministers attempted to shut the station down or transfer it to an independent organization — but to no avail. They could not contend with Army Radio’s popularity or with the fact that so many of its alumni were active in other Israeli media outlets and other key positions in the public sphere.