03 Jun 24 | Israel, News and features, Palestine
Israel’s decision to seize video equipment from AP journalists last week may have been swiftly reversed but the overall direction of travel for media freedom in Israel is negative.
Journalists inside Gaza are of course paying the highest price (yesterday preliminary investigations by CPJ showed at least 107 journalists and media workers were among the more than 37,000 killed since the Israel-Gaza war began) and it feels odd to speak of equipment seizures when so many of those covering the war in the Strip have paid with their lives. But this is not to compare, merely to illuminate.
The past few days have provided ample evidence of what many within Israel have long feared – that the offensive in Gaza is not being reported on fully in Israel itself. On Tuesday a video went viral of an Israeli woman responding with outrage at the wide gulf between news on Sunday’s bombing of a refugee camp in Rafah within Israeli media compared to major international news outlets. Yesterday, in an interview with Canadian broadcaster CBC, press freedom director for the Union of Journalists in Israel, Anat Saragusti, spoke more broadly of the reporting discrepancies since 7 October:
“The world sees a completely different war from the Israeli audience. This is very disturbing.”
Saragusti added that part of this is because the population is still processing the horrors of 7 October and with that comes a degree of self-censorship from those within the media. The other reason, she said, is that the IDF provides much of the material that appears in Israeli media and this is subject to review by military censors. While the military has always exerted control (Israeli law requires journalists to submit any article dealing with “security issues” to the military censor for review prior to publication), this pressure has intensified since the war, as the magazine +972 showed. Since 2011 +972 have released an annual report looking at the scale of bans by the military censor. In their latest report, released last week and published on our site with permission, they highlighted how in 2023 more than 600 articles by Israeli media outlets were barred, which was the most since their tracking began.
In a visually arresting move, Israeli paper Haaretz published an article on Wednesday with blacked out words and sentences. Highlighting such redactions is incidentally against the law and will no doubt add to the government’s wrath at Haaretz (late last year they threatened the left-leaning outlet with sanctions over their Gaza war coverage).
The government’s attempts to control the media landscape was already a problem prior to 7 October. Benjamin Netanyahu is known for his fractious relationship with the press and has made some very personal attacks throughout his career, such as this one from 2016, while Shlomo Kahri, the current communications minister, last year expressed a desire to shut down the country’s public broadcaster Kan. This week it was also revealed by Haaretz that two years ago investigative reporter Gur Megiddo was blocked from reporting on how then chief of Mossad had allegedly threatened then ICC prosecutor (the story finally saw daylight on Tuesday). Megiddo said he’d been summoned to meet two officials and threatened. It was “explained that if I published the story I would suffer the consequences and get to know the interrogation rooms of the Israeli security authorities from the inside,” said Megiddo.
Switching to the present, it feels unconscionable that Israelis, for whom the war is a lived reality not just a news story, are being served a light version of its conduct.
In the case of AP, their equipment was confiscated on the premise that it violated a new media law, passed by Israeli parliament in April, which allows the state to shut down foreign media outlets it deems a security threat. It was under this law that Israel also raided and closed Al Jazeera’s offices earlier this month and banned the company’s websites and broadcasts in the country.
Countries have a habit of passing censorious legislation in wartime, the justification being that some media control is important to protect the military. The issue is that such legislation is typically vague, open to abuse by those in power, and doesn’t always come with an expiry date to protect peacetime rights.
“A country like Israel, used to living through intense periods of crisis, is particularly vulnerable to calls for legislation that claims to protect national security by limiting free expression. Populist politicians are often happy to exploit the “rally around the flag” effect,” Daniella Peled, managing editor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, told Index.
We voiced our concerns here in terms of Ukraine, which passed a media law within the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion with very broad implications, and we have concerns with Israel too. But as these examples show, our concerns are far wider than just one law and one incidence of confiscated equipment.
24 May 24 | News and features, Opinion, Ruth's blog
“The greatest of all human delusions is that there is a tangible goal, and not just direction towards an ideal aim. The idea that a goal can be attained perpetually frustrates human beings, who are disappointed at never getting there, never being able to stop.”
Stephen Spender, poet and co-founder of Index on Censorship
Sometimes it is wise to follow the advice of a great. I have spent my life striving for tangible, if all too regularly unachievable, goals and sometimes you do just need to stop—if only to reflect. For the last four years I have led Index on Censorship as we strived to protect and promote freedom of expression in an increasingly polarised world. However it is now my turn to stop—at least at Index.
This is my last weekly blog. As of today my brilliant successor Jemimah Steinfeld will be taking over the reins as CEO (which means we’re looking for a new editor).
My time at Index started during the pandemic when authoritarian regimes used the pretext of Covid-19 as an excuse to restrict access to a free media. We’ve seen Putin invade Ukraine, the people of Afghanistan abandoned to the Taliban, the increased repression in Hong Kong and the continuing rise of populist politics around the world. All of this as technology is changing faster than any of us can really comprehend and we are only now starting to appreciate how it can be used as a tool for dissent as well as repression.
At times the world has felt far, far too bleak. Our ability to directly help dissidents has always been limited to paying them for their work – but when you are publishing their fears and realities every day it can be beyond disheartening. Yet my amazing team have worked to support people in Egypt, Iran, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Belarus and a dozen other countries. It’s been a privilege to lead them, as they sought to protect others.
The joy of Index is that our supporters—well you—often rightly claim ownership of our work. Challenging us to do more. Before I leave I think it’s important for my successor that I explain why we do what we do. Our remit is promoting the work of dissidents; that means we touch on areas of media or academic or artistic freedom but when we do it should always be through the prism of censorship and repression. In the UK, the EU and the US we also engage on issues which we think undermine our ability to promote freedom of expression in countries where repression is the norm—we cannot forgo the moral high ground. And our rights are as important as anyone else’s.
This means that sometimes we won’t cover issues in the same depth that others do because we’re a small team. Index undoubtedly punches above its weight but there are less than a dozen of us, so we can’t cover everything. We also might not cover an issue because as important or as valid as it is, it might not be a matter of freedom of expression but rather underpinned by an alternative human right.
There is also the fact that some of the team travel – to the very places that we write about. So sometimes we don’t publish until they come home. So occasionally you may need to indulge us.
Even with all of these constraints Index does exceptional work. I am so proud of the work we’ve done on SLAPPs, on digital rights and of course the work we do with dissidents. So thank you for your support in making it happen.
And while I am doing thank-yous, it would be remiss of me not to thank my amazing Chair, Trevor Philips, and our brilliant board of Trustees. With me, they have helped Index rebrand, relaunch and celebrate our 50th birthday. They have rebuilt the organisation into the force I believe it to be. Their commitment to Index has been unwavering and without them Index wouldn’t be here today. Simply put they are exceptional people and I am grateful to them.
Going forward Index has a huge work programme – freedom of expression will be challenged by AI, deepfakes, transnational repression and a shifting world order with nation states whose actions can mean it is no longer always clear who are goodies. This is all compounded by a public space that no longer encourages debate but rather seeks to silence the alternative view. Issues quickly become toxic and ideological purity is seemingly a prerequisite for engagement in any ‘controversial’ debate. This is at odds with the very basic tenets of freedom of expression – debate and engagement leads to change and enables societies to thrive and grow. We should always be prepared to protect the boundaries of our public space to protect speech – not hate speech – but genuine thought and considered debate. After all that is the basis for any strong democracy.
So as the UK heads towards a general election, my focus will be on the best bit of our democracy – the election campaign.
So thank you for your support, your views and most importantly your commitment to freedom of expression.
Here’s hoping – that as a third of the world heads to the polls this year – freedom of expression will end up as the protected and cherished human right that we all need it to be.
PS – Make sure you use your vote – if you have one!
PPS – Be kind to Jemimah, she is going to be brilliant.
17 May 24 | Georgia, News and features, Opinion, Ruth's blog, Slovakia
As the world looks on in horror at Russia’s aggression in Kharkiv and in despair at events in the Middle East it is easy to miss the detail of what is happening in other countries as political leaders move to censor as the democratic values that we hold increasingly feel under threat. This week we have seen an assassination attempt on the Slovakian Prime Minister and an attempted terror attack in Rouen.
In Georgia, there are protests in the streets of the capital Tbilisi. A fierce battle is being waged, not with weapons, but with voices raised in unison against an outrageous and controversial “foreign agent” law. The legislation, which has already passed its third reading in parliament with a vote of 84 to 30, mandates that NGOs and independent media receiving over 20% of their funding from foreign sources register as entities “bearing the interests of a foreign power”. This bill has sparked widespread protests, with thousands taking to the streets in defiance Geogriof what they see as an existential threat to their democracy and civil liberties.
The comparison to Russia’s 2012 law, which similarly targets foreign-funded organisations and has been used to suppress dissent, is not lost on the Georgian people. Critics aptly nickname the bill the “Russia law,” fearing it could pave the way for authoritarianism in Georgia, much like it did in Russia. The legislation’s draconian measures include potential fines of up to 25,000 GEL ($9,400 or £7,500) and stringent monitoring by the Justice Ministry, raising alarms about the erosion of democratic freedoms.
Protesters, driven by a desire to protect their democratic values and maintain Georgia’s trajectory towards European integration, have clashed with police and faced arrests. The atmosphere in Tbilisi has been charged, with demonstrators attempting to breach the parliament building and shutting down major intersections. Tensions have spilled over into parliament, where physical and verbal altercations between pro-government and opposition MPs underscore the high stakes of this political confrontation.
President Salome Zourabichvili, an outspoken critic of the bill, has vowed to veto it. However, the ruling Georgian Dream party holds sufficient seats in parliament to override her veto, casting doubt on the president’s ability to halt the legislation. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s ominous warning that backing down would lead Georgia to “easily share the fate of Ukraine” without further explanation has only fuelled public anxiety.
The international community has not remained silent. The European Union, keenly observing Georgia’s bid for membership, has warned that the bill could jeopardise its candidacy. Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, expressed solidarity with the Georgian people, affirming their right to a European future. Similarly, the White House has cautioned that it would reassess its ties with Georgia, urging the president to veto the law. The UK’s Minister for Europe, Nusrat Ghani, has described the scenes in Georgia as shocking, further highlighting the global implications of this domestic struggle.
Natia Seskuria, a former member of Georgia’s National Security Council, believes the protests will persist as long as the law remains a threat. Indeed, the resilience of the Georgian people is evident. “We are waiting for when we will have a choice to choose a new government,” a young protester told AFP, reflecting a common sentiment among those seeking change in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The stakes are incredibly high. The new law not only threatens civil society and media freedom but also risks derailing Georgia’s European aspirations. With elections just five months away, the Georgian Dream party’s grip on power is being fiercely contested. The pro-democracy protests in Georgia are a testament to the unyielding spirit of its people, who refuse to let their country slip into authoritarianism. Their struggle is a poignant reminder that the fight for freedom and sovereignty is ongoing and must be vigilantly defended.
As ever Index stands with the people of Georgia against any moves towards censorship and away from democracy. We are in awe of their bravery and they are not alone.
10 May 24 | Magazine, Magazine Editions, Volume 53.01 Spring 2024
Volume 53.01 Spring 2024
