The Israel Press Council over the weekend stated that it opposes the "bill for the promotion and protection of the printed media in Israel," which targets Israel Hayom by seeking to bar the free distribution of newspapers. A statement posted on the council's website said that "in light of the attempts to restrict the operations of Israel Hayom, the Israel Press Council seeks to underscore the importance of diverse media in Israel as one of the main guarantees of strengthening democracy in Israel." The president of the Israel Press Council, retired Supreme Court Justice Dalia Dorner, has in the past expressed her opposition to any initiative that would infringe on Israel Hayom's operations or seek to shut it down. The council's statement further said that its board has discussed the crisis that has been plaguing the Israeli media over the past decade several times, and that it is concerned that "the financial straits plaguing publishers have had a dire affect on freedom of the press." As part of its efforts to ensure pluralism in Israeli media, the council has recently demanded that the government take steps to secure the future of public broadcast, it supported keeping Channel 10 on the air, and it has supported taking steps to save the Maariv and Makor Rishon daily newspapers. "Throughout her term as council president Justice Dorner has repeatedly stressed the importance of diverse media as a way to offer the public as much information as possible," the statement said. Meanwhile, the public's opposition to the bill is growing as well, as hundreds of readers have posted messages of support on Israel Hayom's Facebook page, while thousands of others gave a new campaign seeking to counter the bill a "Like." The "Israelis won't be silenced" campaign launched on Israel Hayom's Hebrew-language website, as well as on the newspaper's social media pages and its app, has been steadily gaining popularity. "If Yedioth Ahronoth gave out their paper for free it wouldnt hurt their profits -- on the contrary, they would get more advertising because they would have more readers. Instead of competing, they're trying to fight in a sneaky way and harm one of the few things in Israel we can get for free," Facebook user Oshrat Tal said in her post. "Israel Hayom gives a platform for every opinion. I always see dozens of people waiting in line for it, including me," Dalia Levy posted. Facebook user Erez Leshem said he goes to great lengths to make sure he has the weekend edition. "I walk from my house to the nearest distribution points, about 2 kilometers [1.2 miles] because I love this newspaper. Not because it's free, but because of the quality writing." Another reader commented on website, saying, "Ever since Israel Hayom came along, many Israelis feel like something that made them feel very uneasy has disappeared. If this anti-democratic bill passes, Israel will find itself alongside other dark countries, like Iran and Cuba."
Israel Press Council opposes anti-Israel Hayom bill
IPC: Diverse media is one of the main guarantees of strengthening democracy in Israel • "Israelis won't be silenced" campaign gains momentum, Israel Hayom readers warn passage of bill would put Israel alongside countries like Iran and Cuba.
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