Israel suspends funding to Haaretz after publisher describes terrorists as ‘freedom fighters’

At least three Israeli government ministries have announced they will be terminating all cooperation and advertising with Israel’s most prestigious left-wing newspaper after the group’s publisher accused Israel of “apartheid” and described Palestinian terrorists as “freedom fighters” during an event in London.

Amos Schocken, the head of the Haaretz Group and Haaretz publisher, said in a speech that Israel has a government “that opposes a Palestinian state, and instead, the Netanyahu government wants to continue to encourage illegal settlements in the territories designated for a [future] Palestinian state.

The sold-out panel event, which took place at JW3, included much of Haaretz’s senior editorial team alongside a number of Jewish organisation heads, academics, and politicians.

“It does not care [about] applying a brutal apartheid regime on the Palestinian people,” he said.

Shocken also said Palestinian terrorists were “freedom fighters” and called for sanctions to be placed on Israel’s leaders.

Fallout in Israel over the incendiary comments led to calls from multiple government bodies to suspend their respective publishing and advertising in the daily newspaper.

Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, the Interior Ministry, and the Education Ministry all announced their intention to cut ties with the publication.

Avi Cohen-Skali, director general of the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, said the department would “suspend all existing agreements” with Haaretz and halt any future partnerships, charging Shocken’s words as “extreme, baseless, and false”.

Describing “those who killed, raped, and butchered our people freedom fighters” amounted to “words of incitement straight out of the playbook of the greatest enemies of the State of Israel,” he said.

The director general of Israel’s Education Ministry said Shocken’s comments “contradicted the values of the education ministry.”

Attempting to clarify his remarks, Schocken said: “Given the reactions to my labeling Palestinians who commit acts of terror as freedom fighters, I have reconsidered my words. Many freedom fighters around the world and throughout history, possibly even those who fought for Israel's establishment, committed terrible acts of terrorism, harming innocent people to achieve their goals.

"I should have said: freedom fighters, who also resort to terror tactics - which must be combated. The use of terror is not legitimate."

"As for Hamas, they are not freedom fighters as their ideology essentially states, 'It's all ours, others should leave.' I have stated, though not in the conference speech but in an article, that the organizers and perpetrators of the October 7 attacks should be severely punished.”

Other prominent Likud Party politicians in Israel are calling for the government to cease its cooperation with Israel’s most read left-leaning paper.

Roi Levy, mayor of Nesher, and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel both called for their offices to stop advertising in Haaretz over Shocken’s comments.

Israel’s Minister of Communications and Knesset member for Likud, Shlomo Karhi, is said to have put forward a proposal that would see the Israeli government cease all communication and cooperation with Haaretz.

In a statement, Karhi argued that since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, “many complaints have been received” about the way in which Haaretz has covered the news, which undermined “the goals of the war and weakens the military effort and our social resilience,”

He told Ynet: "It is worth noting that Haaretz is generously funded by Israeli citizens through advertisements and subscriptions purchased by the government.

“Halting the purchase of services from Haaretz by government bodies will ease the significant distress Israeli citizens feel, not only from the newspaper’s publications but also from being compelled to fund it with their tax money. This approach will mitigate the harm to Israeli citizens without disproportionately infringing on freedom of expression.”

The dual Hebrew and English language newspaper, founded in 1918, is one of the most widely read in Israel.

Other speakers at the Sunday event included former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, MKs Ayman Odeh and Naama Lazimi, Lord Michael Levy, and a video address from Sir Tony Blair.

Its purpose, according to organisers, was to discuss the implications of an “expanding zone of regional conflict” in the Middle East.

Pro-Palestine activists protested outside the JW3 cultural centre during a conference featuring former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert (Photo: X)[Missing Credit]

Upon arriving at the JW3 building on Sunday, the mostly Jewish audience were met by an anti-Israel protest outside that chanted “Palestine is not your home” and that they were “genocide supporters”.

Anti-Israel demonstrators protest outside the Haaretz London conference at JW3[Missing Credit]

The crowd, numbering around 150, stood directly outside the Jewish community centre holding signs accusing Israel of terrorism and genocide. One protester was arrested, according to police.