The IDF Spokesperson's office on Monday condemned incitement graffiti messages sprayed the Army Radio building in Jaffa.
One part of the graffiti read, “The head of the snake, the High Court of Justice, the prosecutor’s office, the Police Investigations Department, the secular heresy must be removed.”
Another part of the graffiti, with spelling errors, stated, “Your time is limited, your days are numbered.”
The IDF called the threats “grave and improper incitement actions against those serving in the IDF, which must be completely condemned.”
Further, the military said that it demanded that law enforcement – likely referencing the police-based assumption that the graffiti sprayers were Israeli civilians – to bring the lawbreakers to justice.
These incitement messages take place against the backdrop of a move by Defense Minister Israel Katz to try to close Army Radio by March 1. Katz has been pressing to close Army Radio since he obtained government approval on December 22. Subsequently, the High Court froze the process pending a final ruling on the merits of the legal issues in dispute.
Katz obtained government approval to close Army Radio in December
According to the defense minister, Army Radio has been politically biased against the government, and the concept of a military media outlet is obsolete and infrequent in democracies.
Supporters of Army Radio say that Katz and the government want to close Army Radio simply to cut off independent thought and criticism from the media, noting other executive and legislative moves that the cabinet has tried to take against critical media reporting.
Further, they add that there are intermediate steps, such as diversifying the political views expressed by the outlet or eliminating political reporting but keeping other news reporting, which could be agreed to in place of a full closure of the outlet.