This is How We Demanded the News Channels End Their Self-Censorship

04/08/25

The editors, reporters, and newsroom staff of Channels 12 and 13 didn’t see this coming: On August 4, 2025, several dozen activists arrived at the Neve Ilan Media Complex to demand an end to the self-censorship practiced by Israel’s main TV stations in reporting on Gaza.

This action was made possible thanks to over 5,000 citizens, many of them journalists and media professionals themselves, who joined our call on the media to end its self-censorship and to start covering the humanitarian disaster in Gaza. Ahead of the protest, we distributed leaflets on the cars of news staff, laying out the demands in our petition (hyperlink to petition).

Among the journalists and media figures who joined our call: Yaron London, Orly Vilnai, Yon Feder, Nisan Shor, Mordechai Gilat, Shlomi Eldar, Yaron Ten-Brink, Tani Goldstein, Tami Litani, Menashe Raz, Nir Hasson, and many more. New supporters are joining this demand every day – some publicly, others preferring to remain anonymous.

As part of the campaign, we sent letters to the CEOs, deputy CEOs, and chief editors of all Israeli TV channels, stating:
"Fulfilling your journalistic mission is especially critical in times of national crisis or war – even if it provokes backlash, hurts ratings, or reduces ad revenue. Leaks from internal newsroom forums raise concerns that this is a deliberate policy – disgraceful self-censorship characteristic of state-controlled media in authoritarian regimes. It is time to show courage – to fulfill your journalistic duty and show the Israeli public the reality in Gaza."

The protest and campaign made waves and were widely covered in the Israeli media.