Bibi Netanyahu takes on the media
A politician with 2m Facebook fans wants more sway over Israeli television
ISRAEL’S prime minister recently told an American audience that “there is no country in the world where the press is freer [than Israel]. There is no country in the world that attacks its leader more than the Israeli press attacks me. That’s fine. It’s their choice. They are free press and they can say anything they want.” Yet even as Binyamin Netanyahu extols the virtues of a free press and Israel’s democracy abroad he is risking the survival of his governing coalition by trying to take control of parts of the media at home.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Prime minister v pundits”
From the April 1st 2017 edition
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