Supreme Court President Isaac Amit ruled that a hearing on petitions challenging the Monday decision to close Army Radio on March 1 will be held in late January.
The petitions were filed by the Academy for a Democratic Israel and the Union of Journalists in Israel. Amit ordered both the petitioners and the respondents to submit preliminary responses no later than two weeks ahead of the scheduled hearing.
As for the petitioners, they sought an interim order to freeze the decision by Defense Minister Israel Katz. However, Amit wrote that, given the proximity of the hearing date, he did not find it appropriate to grant the request.
At the heart of the matter is the issue of timing. While Army Radio, which has been broadcasting for 75 years, is officially scheduled to shut down on March 1, Katz already instructed IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir and Defense Ministry Director-General Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amir Baram to begin implementing the closure.
Reallocating serving military personnel to other roles within the IDF
The directive included reallocating serving military personnel to other roles within the IDF and arranging severance packages for dozens of civilian contractors employed by the station.
Katz further stated that he expects most of these steps to be completed by February 15, weeks before the formal closure date.
As a result, by the time the High Court hearing takes place in late January, elements of the dismantling process may already be underway – actions that would likely have been suspended had an interim order been issued.
“To clear the record,” Amit said, his daughter and one of his aides had served at Army Radio over a decade ago.
On Monday, the Attorney-General’s Office warned that the government lacks the legal authority to shut down Army Radio by cabinet decision alone, calling the move unlawful and constitutionally flawed.
It further stressed that closing one of Israel’s only two nationwide public news radio stations would cause serious harm to freedom of expression and the press, particularly given the weakened state of the public broadcaster KAN.
Additionally, it criticized the decision-making process as deeply flawed and politically tainted, and warned that shutting the station just months before national elections would magnify the democratic damage. Any closure, it said, would require primary legislation and a full public debate – not executive action.
The petition filed by the Academy for a Democratic Israel – an NGO representing a broad coalition of former Army Radio commanders, veteran journalists, and public figures – advanced arguments similar to those outlined by the Attorney-General’s Office.
They said, in response to the court’s announcement on Tuesday, that the move underscored the gravity of the issues raised.
The group accused the government of acting hastily and without proper professional or public review, warning that shutting down the station would erase a central pillar of Israeli public broadcasting. They vowed to continue their legal and public struggle to keep Army Radio on the air.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.