Fake news is often part of the political game to prepare the population for something new, especially when published by recognized journalists or commentators. In the last few days, some examples of this type of fake news appeared in Israel.
Religious journalist Amit Segal announced yesterday on Channel 12 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already agreed to a new compromise proposal regarding judicial reform. The proposal includes new legislation on a watered-down “reasonableness” law, no change to the judicial selection committee and the freezing of all reform legislation for 18 months. Shortly after the report was published, Netanyahu and his Justice Minister Yariv Levin denied it. The report that the Likud had agreed to a compromise on judicial reform proposed by President Isaac Herzog was “fake news,” they insisted. Segal, who is very close to Netanyahu and is often seen as his mouthpiece in the mainstream media, certainly did not publish any fake news from Netanyahu.
The news of fresh negotiations comes just as the Supreme Court is set to hold two dramatic hearings on judicial reform this month. On September 12, the Court will hear petitions challenging the Reasonableness Amendment Act. According to the recently passed amendment to the relevant Basic Law, the Supreme Court can no longer overturn government decisions “solely because they are [considered by the justices to be] unreasonable and inappropriate.” Shortly after the law was passed, petitions were filed against the change. Yesterday, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara asked the Supreme Court to overturn the amendment. That would be an absolute novelty, as the Supreme Court has never overturned an amendment to Israel’s quasi-constitutional Basic Laws.
Segal’s report also matches what was published a few days earlier in the Orthodox newspaper Modia. Accordingly, Netanyahu is ready to dissolve or abandon his governing coalition in return for an Israeli-Saudi peace agreement. “The Prime Minister is even prepared to overthrow his own governing coalition for this,” wrote Modia. “Netanyahu has come to terms with the fact that his political career is coming to an end,” the religious newspaper reported on Friday morning. These moves, Modia continued, are being taken in consultation with Washington. Netanyahu is “unable to govern the country in the current political situation,” according to the report.
״המודיע״ מודיע. pic.twitter.com/sDhJ8tYZQS
— אילן שילוח (@IlanShiloah) September 1, 2023
Report from the Orthodox newspaper Modia: “Is Netanyahu preparing to overthrow the government?”
This was also denied by Netanyahu’s Likud party shortly before the start of Shabbat and repeatedly described it as fake news. Modia is an ultra-Orthodox newspaper and is owned by Bibi’s ultra-Orthodox coalition partner, the United Torah Judaism Party. “This government will fulfill its mandate regardless of the prime minister’s attempts to expand Israel’s circle of peace,” the Likud statement read.
This explains, among other things, Netanyahu’s strange tweet the day before yesterday, which suggested that his heart is not entirely in judicial reform, at least not in the way it is being carried out. The tweet was quickly deleted, and Likud officials again labeled media interpretations of it–that Netanyahu sees current arguments for judicial reform as less sensible than those against it–as “fake news.”
Compromise talks on Israel’s judicial overhaul are in the works. Lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum reject any bargain
‘What we are seeing since last evening is actually a show to Washington says Diplomatic Correspondent @arik3000 pic.twitter.com/AtP1mkbgh7
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) September 5, 2023
No matter how you look at it and which side you are on in the political confusion surrounding judicial reform, fake news definitely has its place in politics, often to bring the truth to the media in a roundabout way, or the lie in a straightforward way. The difference is often not easy to see. Just because someone says it’s fake news doesn’t mean it’s fake news. It always depends on who is spreading this fake news, as well as the background to these reports.
Ultimately, the two camps in Israel, left and right, are at war with each other, constantly accusing the other of only spreading fake news about their opponents. But regarding this recent example, if it was reported by Amit Segal, then I find it difficult to believe it’s fake news. And I can also well imagine that Segal received this message from Bibi personally in order to test the waters for a possible compromise. Segal has admitted on several occasions that he is informed directly by Bibi about things to pass on to the media. This is normal in the relationship between politicians and journalists. So we have to see who lied, the one who spread the “fake news,” or the one who denied ultimately labeled it was such, Segal or Bibi.
Star Wars, or Ukraine? Fake War Footage Infiltrates Even Mainstream Media
New HBO Series Misinforms Viewers on Conflict
Christian Millennials Visit Israel, Realize Media’s Been Lying to Them
Palestinian Journalists: Top Priority Is ‘Loyalty to Martyrs’
BBC Finally Apologizes for Biased Coverage of Israel
The News Media’s Systemic Antisemitism
Israel needs a PR strategy suited to Hamas
Biden Clings to 2-State Solution, Even as Palestinian Authority Burns
Why You Can’t Believe What the UN or Mainstream Media Say About Israel
Israeli Cabinet approves measures to shut down ‘Al Jazeera’ news bureau
The Dangers of Foreign Media Coverage
Fake News: Iran Says It Attacked Tel Aviv Metro
What the New York Times Meant for Evil, God Used for Good
Politicians and Social Media: Giving Weight to ‘Fake News’
BBC Reluctantly Apologizes Over Outrageous Anti-Israel Claim
War on Terror in Realtime
New York Times Forced to (Again) Admit to ‘Fake News’ About Gaza
The Painful Truth About Media Bias: Some Journalists Lie
One Day’s Headlines Reveal the Entire Israeli-Arab Conflict
Most Israelis do not trust mainstream media
‘The History Matters Here:’ Return to Jenin
They are Shooting Inside the Right-Wing MV
Israeli Minister Takes On Foreign Media ‘Fake News’
When Gay “Pride” Clashes With Minority Sensitivity
Does Anyone Actually Care About Shireen Abu Akleh?
Al-Jazeera’s Insidiousness Exposed
Unsettled by Settlements
BBC chief not bothered by inaccurate reporting on Gaza
Bennett Shuts Down Catty Christiane Amanpour: ‘There You Go Again’
Why Would Israeli Journalists Fight Over Hunter Biden?
‘Too many red lines crossed’: Israeli hospital bans BBC
There’s No Such Thing as a Palestinian Terrorist
CNN Protects the Lions’ Den
You Just Never Know
Arab Family Evicted From Jewish-Owned Property. World Loses Its Mind
Video Evidence Proves Israel Not at Fault for Violence at Shireen Abu Akleh’s Funeral
Contextless Headlines on Abu Akleh Funeral Highlight Anti-Israel Bias
Israeli Soldiers Reportedly Save Palestinian Child Hurt in Car Accident
Is the Job of the Media to Inform, or to Educate?
CNN launders Hamas propaganda
Jerusalem Mayor Dismantles BBC Assertion That Israel Provoked Temple Mount Riots
Israeli Fake News: We Found a Secret River!
“They’re registering the dead!” Why the mainstream media can’t be trusted
Uncovering the Hypocrisy of Palestinian Propaganda
CNN’S Farce of an ‘Investigation’
Tachles with Aviel – “I hope we are credible”
‘Comfort My People’
Fake news alert: Amnesty, UN and BBC against settler violence
Israel’s Inner Soul
Postjournalism and the Return of “Truth”
Netanyahu’s Dirty Laundry
Tachles With Aviel – Herzliya Explosion: Accident, or Iranian Missile Attack?
BBC ‘censors’ interview with Herzog
The Influencers Fighting for Israel on the Digital Battlefield
America Can’t Prove It, But Blames Israel Anyway for Al Jazeera Reporter’s Death
CNN Producer Fired for Anti-Israel Remarks
‘NY Times’ column: Hebrew symbolizes ‘far-right militarism’
How to Defeat the Israel ‘Occupation’ Myth With Facts
How the Mainstream Media Covered the Jerusalem Terror Attack
Analysis: How the Foreign Media Distorts Bloody Terror Attack
Israeli Terror Victims Will Sue CNN for $1.3 Billion
‘The New York Times,’ Zionism and Israel
Fake Photos, Palestinian Propaganda & the War for World Opinion
The sanitising of violence
American Media Colonizes Israel’s Arab Citizens
Mainstream vs Social Media: The Battle for Real News
Two More ‘New York Times’ Freelancers Caught Praising Hitler and Palestinian Terrorism
Tachles with Aviel – Media in the service of liars
Jews Mobbed by Palestinians After Accidentally Entering Ramallah
Tachles with Aviel – Israel wakes up the media!
Learn from America: Get Them Off the Air
Digital Media: The Battle Was Won. Time to Move On
To the Media, Not Even an Attack on a Synagogue Is Terror
Shameful: Arab Journalists Blacklisted for Supporting Israel-UAE Deal
Israel Today Membership
Monthly Membership
Yearly Membership
Save 18% Per Month.
Six Months Membership
Save 9% Per Month.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Only members can read and write comments.