Witch hunt in Israel after Haaretz publisher calls Palestinians 'freedom fighters'

The Israeli daily Haaretz faced fresh threats of sanctions from the Israeli government this week after its publisher referred to Palestinians as "freedom fighters" during a conference speech.

Amos Schocken made the comments in a Haaretz conference in London on Sunday, sparking calls from the far-right government ministers to restrict the outlet's activities and pull government-linked advertisements from it.

In his English-language speech, which was aired on Wednesday on Channel 14 and subsequently circulated in Israeli media, Schocken referred to Palestinian "freedom fighters" as "terrorists".

"The Netanyahu government doesn't care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population," he said at the conference.

"It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters, that Israel calls terrorists," he said.

"In a sense, what is taking place now in the occupied territories and in parts of Gaza is a second Nakba ... A Palestinian state must be established and the only way to achieve this, I think, is to apply sanctions against Israel, against the leaders who oppose it and against the settlers," he added.

In response to the remarks,  Israel's Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi submitted a proposal on Thursday calling for several government restrictions on the popular daily, including suspending government-linked advertisements and ending individual subscriptions for state employees.

The proposal by Karhi's office said that the government "should not enter into new contracts with Haaretz, including individual subscriptions for state employees, nor renew any existing contracts; all current agreements with Haaretz, including personal subscriptions, will be cancelled as legally feasible".

It also urged the government's advertising body to "direct Haaretz to cease all advertisements, including statutory notices, regardless of payment status, and seek refunds for any existing payments. No further ads shall be placed in the publication".

Justice Minister Yariv Levin also sent a letter on Thursday to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miar, requesting authority to impose restrictions on Haaretz’s operations.

"I ask that you urgently provide me with a draft law stipulating that actions by Israeli citizens to promote or encourage international sanctions on Israel, its leaders, security forces, and citizens shall constitute a criminal offence punishable by ten years in prison," Levin said.

"I further request that such an offence during wartime be considered an aggravating circumstance, allowing for the penalty to be doubled."

It was not the first time the left-leaning paper came under calls for censorship by right-wing Israeli politicians. In November 2023, shortly after the 7 October war began on Gaza, Karhi pushed for the government to end advertising in the newspaper and cancel all subscriptions for state employees.

Following the outcry, Schocken clarified that his remarks did not suggest that he thought Hamas were freedom fighters.

"Given the reactions to my labeling Palestinians who commit acts of terror as freedom fighters, I have reconsidered my words," he said. "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."

Schocken added: "There are Palestinian freedom fighters who do not use terrorism. Mahmoud Abbas, upon assuming his role as head of the Palestinian Authority, declared his decision to renounce terror and pursue only a diplomatic path. Perhaps for this reason, Netanyahu avoided establishing a relationship with him and chose Hamas instead.

"In my speech, I reiterated what I have written in several articles during the war: Israel's long-term victory will be achieved through the release of all hostages and the establishment of a Palestinian state, ending both apartheid and terrorism."