Israel A Media System under Siege

Israel has a unicameral parliament, the Knesset; elections are national and proportionate, and the executive branch represents a coalition of parties. As a postcolonial entity, the Israeli media landscape resembled at first what in some modeling may have been described as the “development” model — a variety of partisan newspapers, only government-run radio, and no television. Israel entered the 2010s as a highly advanced technological society. The introduction of international streaming services alongside the return to power of Benjamin Netanyahu in 2009 sets the pace and rules for development to come. Over-the-top streaming entered the market before the government had the opportunity to set any regulatory rules. A unique phenomenon in democratic regimes, Galey Tsahal has been broadcasting since the early days of the state and its two stations have emerged as a hip and popular noncommercial alternative to public radio.