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Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken at a conference co-organized by Haaretz in London on Sunday. Credit: Amber Pollack Published by Haaretz
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Khalissee
@Kahlissee
8:50 AM Oct 31, 2024
294.3K Views

The Publisher of Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper has kicked up an absolute storm!

During a show in London, Amos Shokan said, "Palestinian terrorists are freedom fighters, sanctions should be imposed on Roham, Smotrich, Ben Gabir and the IDF for carrying out a second Nakba in Gaza"
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At the Haaretz conference in London, Amos Schocken stated, among other things, that Israel is carrying out a second Nakba. In response, several ministers and government offices announced measures against Haaretz and expressed intentions to propose new restrictions on freedom of speech

Ido David Cohen
Oct 31, 2024

Israel's Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has launched a renewed campaign urging a government boycott of Haaretz following remarks made by Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken at a conference in London on Sunday.

In his speech at the conference, co-organized by Haaretz, Schocken stated, "The Netanyahu government doesn't care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters, that Israel calls terrorists."

Following the publication of the speech, Minister Karhi sought to revive an initiative he had first pushed a year ago – to end government advertising in the newspaper and cancel all subscriptions for state employees, including those in the IDF, police, prison service, government ministries, and state-owned companies.

In his English-language speech, which was aired on Wednesday on Channel 14 and subsequently circulated in Israeli media, Schocken further remarked, "In a sense, what is taking place now in the occupied territories and in parts of Gaza is a second Nakba ... A Palestinian state must be established and the only way to achieve this, I think, is to apply sanctions against Israel, against the leaders who oppose it and against the settlers."

Following the publication of the speech, Minister Karhi sought to revive an initiative he had first pushed a year ago – to end government advertising in the newspaper and cancel all subscriptions for state employees, including those in the IDF, police, prison service, government ministries, and state-owned companies.

In his English-language speech, which was aired on Wednesday on Channel 14 and subsequently circulated in Israeli media, Schocken further remarked, "In a sense, what is taking place now in the occupied territories and in parts of Gaza is a second Nakba ... A Palestinian state must be established and the only way to achieve this, I think, is to apply sanctions against Israel, against the leaders who oppose it and against the settlers."

Sfard, representing the organizations Zulat, the Movement for Fair Regulation, and the Democratic Bloc in their call for a criminal investigation into Channel 14 for incitement to genocide and war crimes against Palestinians, added, "For some reason, Channel 14 isn't on Israel's sanctions list, despite broadcasting criminal statements that Israel has pledged to investigate and address before the International Court of Justice in The Hague."

In response to Schocken's remarks, Justice Minister Yariv Levin sent a letter on Thursday to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, requesting legislation to limit freedom of speech.

"I ask that you urgently provide me with a draft law stipulating that actions by Israeli citizens to promote or encourage international sanctions on Israel, its leaders, security forces, and citizens shall constitute a criminal offense punishable by ten years in prison," he wrote.

Levin added, "I further request that such an offense during wartime be considered an aggravating circumstance, allowing for the penalty to be doubled." Levin also wrote that "Calls for sanctions against Israel … constitute a severe breach of the fundamental duty of loyalty of a citizen toward their country. Such actions promote a course intended to deprive Israel of its right to self-defense."