The Israeli MilitaryCensor is a unit in the IDFDirectorate of Military Intelligence which watches over the publication of information regarding the military network, and generally, the security of Israel. The Military Censor, as part of its duty, has authority to suppress information it deems compromising from being made public in the media. In practice however, the ability of the censor to suppress publication of news stories in the Israeli media is rather limited as Israeli news outlets often circumvent the censor by reporting stories "as quoted from foreign news sources", which, since they were originally published outside of Israel, are not subject to the restrictions of the Israeli military censor. i soldier. The triangular frank depicts Israel Defense Forces logo and denotes sender's military unit postal identification. Red inscription on sticker at right denotes the letter was inspected by the Israeli Military Censor.
Censorship Agreement
In 1966, the Censorship Agreement was signed between media representatives and the IDF. The media agreed to abide by the orders of the Military Censor, while the IDF agreed not to misuse its role:
The purpose of the censorship is to prevent the publication of security information which could benefit the enemy or harm the State.
The Military Censor will inform the media the issues that demand its approval. The list is subject to change but always includes two overarching issues: the security of the state and the immigration of Jews from nations hostile to Israel.
Parliamentary and judicial oversight
During the 1990s, the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee appointed a subcommittee, chaired by Yossi Sarid, to examine the existence and role of the Military Censor. The subcommittee recommended to keep the Censorship Agreement in place but to amend it:
Extend the terms of the Agreement to all media outlets in Israel, not only media outlets with representatives in the Editorial Committee.
The terms of the Censorship Agreement will also be extended to foreign journalists working in Israel
A newspaper will be allowed to cite anything published in another newspaper unless the Military Censor decides the material poses "imminent and immediate danger" in the spirit of the terms established by the Supreme Court.
The Military Censor and the Interior Minister are to be prohibited from shutting down a newspaper that is not part of the Agreement without giving it the opportunity to appeal the decision in the courts.
The former president of the Supreme Court, Aharon Barak, ruled that when in direct conflict, the right to live supersedes the right to expression: In March 2005, it became public that the Ministry of Defense-appointed Winograd Commission for reviewing the authority of the Military Censor, whose members were selected by the then-Chief Censor ColonelMiri Regev, would recommend expanding the authority of the Military Censor, by proposing legislation to repeal the 1989 Supreme Court ruling, which limited the scope its authority on legitimate news reporting. Since then, opposition for the move was expressed by professor Gabriela Shalev, another commission member.
Chief Censor
The unit is commanded by the Chief Censor, an officer directly appointed by the Defense Minister. It is an entirely independent position in the IDF, which is neither subordinate to the Defense Minister, nor the Chief of Staff, Aman Director, or any one else on the chain of command or from the political echelon, and is only subject to parliamentary and judicial oversight. As of August 2005, the Chief Censor is Colonel Sima Vaknin.
Notable cases
1954 – Lavon Affair. Censor circumvented by use of code words.
1977 – The Rabin Memoirs. Yitzak Rabin's account of David Ben-Gurion's 1948 instructions to expel the Arab populations of Ramla and Lydda removed from English edition.
