ISRAEL ARMY SHUTS DOWN AL JAZEERA IN WEST BANK FOR 45 DAYS

The Israeli military has given notice and only gave Al Jazeera media a few minutes to leave. This was done live on the air. The Israeli troops even took the banners on the balcony of Al Jazeera as well. Apparently the banner showed a picture of a Palestinian American Journalist named Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot by Israel forces back in 2022 in May of that year. Apparently in Israel the military carries out court orders and not the police.

To me this is a big no because I believe in the freedom of the press, even those I do not agree with. I say that as a former military man who took an oath to support and defend the Constitution against foreign and domestic enemies. Now as an Ashkenazi Jew myself, I find it difficult to agree with Israel on this. Because there are freedoms that are not given by government but are given to us by our Creator. And the freedom of the press and of speech is one of those. I do think that Israel has a right to self defense, but that should not be used on freedom of the press and freedom of speech. See article below about the closing of Al Jazeera:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/news/content/ar-AA1qYEmq?ocid=superappdhp&muid=F6C93484935D4AA6A0D2D218BE958D9C&adid=&anid=529AF9AED60658C5BB95F689FFFFFFFF&market=en-us&cm=en-us&activityId=66ea0210171d41e99fda91dce68ec1e2&bridgeVersionInt=92&fontSize=sa_fontSize&isChinaBuild=false&muid=F6C93484935D4AA6A0D2D218BE958D9C&adid=&anid=529AF9AED60658C5BB95F689FFFFFFFF&market=en-us&cm=en-us&activityId=26c5c461316443e1b897fd258ce59c92&bridgeVersionInt=92&fontSize=sa_fontSize&isChinaBuild=false

Below is what I have found about Israel’s basic human laws:

Israel does not have a formal written constitution. Instead, it relies on a series of Basic Laws that serve as the country’s de facto constitution. Freedom of expression, including freedom of the press, is protected under these Basic Laws, particularly the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty³.

The Supreme Court of Israel has affirmed that freedom of expression is an essential component of human dignity³. However, the Knesset has not passed specific legislation to incorporate freedom of the press into the Basic Laws³.

If you want to explore more about Israel’s Basic Laws and their approach to human rights, you can visit the Knesset’s official page on the constitution².

Is there anything specific you would like to know more about?

Source: Conversation with Copilot, 9/22/2024
(1) Freedom of the Press 2017 – Israel – Refworld. https://www.refworld.org/docid/59fc67dea.html.
(2) Constitution for Israel – Knesset. https://www.knesset.gov.il/constitution/ConstP17_eng.htm.
(3) Constitution for Israel – Knesset. https://knesset.gov.il/constitution/ConstMHumanRights.htm.
(4) Freedom of Expression in Israel: Origins, Evolution, Revolution and …. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3876035.
(5) Press Freedom, Democracy Under Fire – The Israel Democracy Institute. https://en.idi.org.il/articles/3321.