<story><title>Israel shuts down local Al Jazeera offices</title><url>https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/05/israel-shuts-down-local-al-jazeera-offices-in-dark-day-for-the-media</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>guappa</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s a bit ironic how we are constantly reminded that china isn&amp;#x27;t a democracy because they have censorship, while we are free and democratic and don&amp;#x27;t have censorship (except we do).&lt;p&gt;Italy is passing laws to be able to block websites within 30 minutes, without any oversight from any judge. (more details here, link in italian &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;stop-piracy-shield.it&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;stop-piracy-shield.it&amp;#x2F;&lt;/a&gt;)</text></item><item><author>mrtksn</author><text>That&amp;#x27;s correct and IMHO its the right thing to do when shooting begins because when people shoot each other this is no longer a discussion and the press is part of the warfare. Remember all the Russian media and social media accounts claiming that its American hysteria that they will invade Ukraine? They denied and mocked anyone who claimed that they will invade up until the tanks rolled in.&lt;p&gt;Personally, I&amp;#x27;m critical of the Israeli government but I think it&amp;#x27;s in their right to try to control information flow as they are in process of driving people from their homes and mass killing people in retaliation of a terrorist attack that claimed the lives of over thousand innocent people.&lt;p&gt;I really dislike glorification war and pretending that it has rules or honour or something like that. People are taking lives en masse and its more than normal to try to control the information flow when doing it.</text></item><item><author>angra_mainyu</author><text>Europe has done the same with Russia.&lt;p&gt;Also, I think a few other Arab countries like Egypt have blocked&amp;#x2F;banned Al Jazeera.</text></item><item><author>Animats</author><text>&amp;quot;and block its websites.&amp;quot; So this keeps Israelis from reading Al Jazeera.&lt;p&gt;Now that&amp;#x27;s new. Israel started Internet censorship in 2017.[1] Initially it was limited to &amp;quot;terror group websites, online illegal gambling, prostitution services, hard drug sales&amp;quot;. At the time, &amp;quot;due to warnings from rights groups that the law poses a slippery slope toward additional censorship, the final version of the legislation dictates that rights groups may appeal the decisions.&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;Then, in 2021, there was the &amp;quot;Facebook bill&amp;quot;, authorizing very broad censorship.[2] That does not seem to have passed. It was first proposed in 2016, almost passed in 2018 [3], tried in 2021, and tried again in 2022. It doesn&amp;#x27;t seem to have passed.&lt;p&gt;But something new happened recently. Wikipedia has a note at Censorship in Israel: &amp;quot;This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: New ban issued by the knesset on foreign media channels. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2024)&amp;quot;[4]
The Knesset gave the government the authority to ban foreign media on April 1, 2024.[5]&lt;p&gt;This isn&amp;#x27;t just about preventing outside media from reporting from Israel. It keeps Israelis from viewing media the government doesn&amp;#x27;t like. Haarez has good coverage.[6]&lt;p&gt;The US White House press secretary issued a weak statement condemning Israel&amp;#x27;s action, but it was on April 1st and the costumed Easter Bunny overshadowed that statement.[7]&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;to-tackle-online-crime-israel-approves-web-censorship-law&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;to-tackle-online-crime-israel-...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[2] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;proposed-censorship-bill-more-intrusive-than-in-any-other-democracy-say-researchers&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;proposed-censorship-bill-more-...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[3] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;how-israel-nearly-destroyed-freedom-of-speech-online-without-even-knowing-it&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;how-israel-nearly-destroyed-fr...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[4] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Censorship_in_Israel&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Censorship_in_Israel&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[5] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.msn.com&amp;#x2F;en-us&amp;#x2F;news&amp;#x2F;world&amp;#x2F;israels-knesset-approves-law-allowing-government-to-shutter-foreign-broadcasters&amp;#x2F;ar-BB1kTYDa&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.msn.com&amp;#x2F;en-us&amp;#x2F;news&amp;#x2F;world&amp;#x2F;israels-knesset-approve...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[6] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.haaretz.com&amp;#x2F;israel-news&amp;#x2F;2024-05-05&amp;#x2F;ty-article&amp;#x2F;israeli-government-votes-unanimously-to-shut-down-al-jazeera-in-israel&amp;#x2F;0000018f-4841-d91a-a5af-e9f5c8de0000&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.haaretz.com&amp;#x2F;israel-news&amp;#x2F;2024-05-05&amp;#x2F;ty-article&amp;#x2F;is...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[7] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.whitehouse.gov&amp;#x2F;briefing-room&amp;#x2F;press-briefings&amp;#x2F;2024&amp;#x2F;04&amp;#x2F;01&amp;#x2F;press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-54&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.whitehouse.gov&amp;#x2F;briefing-room&amp;#x2F;press-briefings&amp;#x2F;202...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>AlecSchueler</author><text>In Germany they can&amp;#x27;t publicly gather to protest Israel&amp;#x27;s actions either, not legally anyway.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.aljazeera.com&amp;#x2F;features&amp;#x2F;2023&amp;#x2F;10&amp;#x2F;26&amp;#x2F;complete-censorship-germanys-palestinian-diaspora-fights-crackdown&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.aljazeera.com&amp;#x2F;features&amp;#x2F;2023&amp;#x2F;10&amp;#x2F;26&amp;#x2F;complete-censo...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>Israel shuts down local Al Jazeera offices</title><url>https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/05/israel-shuts-down-local-al-jazeera-offices-in-dark-day-for-the-media</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>guappa</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s a bit ironic how we are constantly reminded that china isn&amp;#x27;t a democracy because they have censorship, while we are free and democratic and don&amp;#x27;t have censorship (except we do).&lt;p&gt;Italy is passing laws to be able to block websites within 30 minutes, without any oversight from any judge. (more details here, link in italian &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;stop-piracy-shield.it&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;stop-piracy-shield.it&amp;#x2F;&lt;/a&gt;)</text></item><item><author>mrtksn</author><text>That&amp;#x27;s correct and IMHO its the right thing to do when shooting begins because when people shoot each other this is no longer a discussion and the press is part of the warfare. Remember all the Russian media and social media accounts claiming that its American hysteria that they will invade Ukraine? They denied and mocked anyone who claimed that they will invade up until the tanks rolled in.&lt;p&gt;Personally, I&amp;#x27;m critical of the Israeli government but I think it&amp;#x27;s in their right to try to control information flow as they are in process of driving people from their homes and mass killing people in retaliation of a terrorist attack that claimed the lives of over thousand innocent people.&lt;p&gt;I really dislike glorification war and pretending that it has rules or honour or something like that. People are taking lives en masse and its more than normal to try to control the information flow when doing it.</text></item><item><author>angra_mainyu</author><text>Europe has done the same with Russia.&lt;p&gt;Also, I think a few other Arab countries like Egypt have blocked&amp;#x2F;banned Al Jazeera.</text></item><item><author>Animats</author><text>&amp;quot;and block its websites.&amp;quot; So this keeps Israelis from reading Al Jazeera.&lt;p&gt;Now that&amp;#x27;s new. Israel started Internet censorship in 2017.[1] Initially it was limited to &amp;quot;terror group websites, online illegal gambling, prostitution services, hard drug sales&amp;quot;. At the time, &amp;quot;due to warnings from rights groups that the law poses a slippery slope toward additional censorship, the final version of the legislation dictates that rights groups may appeal the decisions.&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;Then, in 2021, there was the &amp;quot;Facebook bill&amp;quot;, authorizing very broad censorship.[2] That does not seem to have passed. It was first proposed in 2016, almost passed in 2018 [3], tried in 2021, and tried again in 2022. It doesn&amp;#x27;t seem to have passed.&lt;p&gt;But something new happened recently. Wikipedia has a note at Censorship in Israel: &amp;quot;This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: New ban issued by the knesset on foreign media channels. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2024)&amp;quot;[4]
The Knesset gave the government the authority to ban foreign media on April 1, 2024.[5]&lt;p&gt;This isn&amp;#x27;t just about preventing outside media from reporting from Israel. It keeps Israelis from viewing media the government doesn&amp;#x27;t like. Haarez has good coverage.[6]&lt;p&gt;The US White House press secretary issued a weak statement condemning Israel&amp;#x27;s action, but it was on April 1st and the costumed Easter Bunny overshadowed that statement.[7]&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;to-tackle-online-crime-israel-approves-web-censorship-law&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;to-tackle-online-crime-israel-...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[2] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;proposed-censorship-bill-more-intrusive-than-in-any-other-democracy-say-researchers&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;proposed-censorship-bill-more-...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[3] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;how-israel-nearly-destroyed-freedom-of-speech-online-without-even-knowing-it&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.timesofisrael.com&amp;#x2F;how-israel-nearly-destroyed-fr...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[4] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Censorship_in_Israel&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;Censorship_in_Israel&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[5] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.msn.com&amp;#x2F;en-us&amp;#x2F;news&amp;#x2F;world&amp;#x2F;israels-knesset-approves-law-allowing-government-to-shutter-foreign-broadcasters&amp;#x2F;ar-BB1kTYDa&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.msn.com&amp;#x2F;en-us&amp;#x2F;news&amp;#x2F;world&amp;#x2F;israels-knesset-approve...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[6] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.haaretz.com&amp;#x2F;israel-news&amp;#x2F;2024-05-05&amp;#x2F;ty-article&amp;#x2F;israeli-government-votes-unanimously-to-shut-down-al-jazeera-in-israel&amp;#x2F;0000018f-4841-d91a-a5af-e9f5c8de0000&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.haaretz.com&amp;#x2F;israel-news&amp;#x2F;2024-05-05&amp;#x2F;ty-article&amp;#x2F;is...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[7] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.whitehouse.gov&amp;#x2F;briefing-room&amp;#x2F;press-briefings&amp;#x2F;2024&amp;#x2F;04&amp;#x2F;01&amp;#x2F;press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-54&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.whitehouse.gov&amp;#x2F;briefing-room&amp;#x2F;press-briefings&amp;#x2F;202...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>mda</author><text>One of them is 100 times more extensive. Ideal is to have none, but lets not pretend that magnitude and severity is not relevant.</text></comment>