The Seventh Eye

The Seventh Eye is Israel’s only independent media watchdog. Established in 1996, today it publishes daily media reviews, articles, op-eds, and investigative reporting aimed at exposing unacceptable journalistic practices, foreign interests in Israeli media, censorship and self-censorship, discrimination, and racism. The site’s writers follow and document progress in the Israeli media world, from a resurgence of journalists’ unions to exposing hidden ‘advertorial’ content, all with an aim of encouraging independent, fair and unbiased journalism.

Recent Articles

Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Fountain Hills, Arizona, before the March 22 primary. (Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0)

How ‘Israel Hayom’ became Trump’s mouthpiece in the Middle East

Sheldon and Miriam Adelson are major donors to the Republican party and to Donald Trump’s presidency. In Israel, their free daily newspaper Israel Hayom promotes Trump relentlessly, with fawning editorials and selective reporting, which minimizes the scandals that have plagued his presidency. By Refael Afriat When Israel Hayom, now the most widely-read newspaper in Israel, was…

By The Seventh Eye October 21, 2019

The Philippine Coast Guard presenting a shipment of 70 Israeli-made machine guns at the PCG National Headquarters Port Area on May 7, 2018. (Courtesy of Philippines Coast Guard)

Israel is trying to hide its arms sales to Duterte’s Philippines

Israel continues to sell arms to the world’s most oppressive regimes, but the courts won’t let the media cover the story. By Itamar Baz An Israeli court imposed a media blackout on hearings held in September regarding a state sale of weapons to the Philippine regime. The petitioners to halt the sale argued that Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president,…

By The Seventh Eye October 1, 2019

Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List party, speaks to supporters at the party headquarters in Nazareth as the exit polls in the Israeli general elections for the 20th parliament are announced on March 17, 2015. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)

What Israeli media gets wrong about Palestinian voters

As long as journalists don’t challenge the mainstream segregationist narrative in Israeli society, they will have negligible impact on Arab voter turnout, says Palestinian sociologist Dr. Maha Karkabi Sabah. By Oren Persico For consumers of Israeli media, there are essentially two separate election campaigns taking place right now, says Dr. Maha Karkabi Sabah, a researcher…

By The Seventh Eye September 6, 2019

Mahmoud Katusa, seen after his relese from Israeli prison, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 25, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Once there’s no Palestinian suspect, the media loses interest

The media played a key role in turning a Palestinian man into the top suspect in a recent child rape case. But ever since charges against him were dropped, the press seems to have lost interest in the case. By Uzi Benziman If you Google the recent rape case of a seven-year-old ultra-Orthodox girl in an ultra-Orthodox settlement in…

By The Seventh Eye July 11, 2019

Mahmoud Katusa, seen after his release from Israeli prison, at the Beitunia crossing, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 25, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

How the media helped turn an innocent Palestinian into a child rapist

Mahmoud Katusa, who was falsely accused of raping a 7-year-old Jewish girl, fell victim to a press and a public atmosphere that views Palestinians as guilty until proven innocent. By Uzi Benziman In order to understand the false allegations against Mahmoud Katusa, a Palestinian man from the West Bank who was wrongfully accused of raping a…

By The Seventh Eye June 25, 2019

A soldier of the Azov Battalion mans a heavy machine gun on a patrol near Mariupol, Ukraine. (Carl Ridderstråle/CC BY-SA 4.0)

Is Israel trying to hide arms exports to neo-Nazi militias in Ukraine?

Human rights activists are hoping to use the courts to expose Israeli arms exports and security know-how to neo-Nazi militias fighting in Ukraine. By Shuki Taussig Is Israel knowingly selling weapons to neo-Nazi militias in Ukraine? A group of Israeli human rights activists filed a petition to the Tel Aviv District Court last June to demand the government…

By The Seventh Eye June 19, 2019

Arab MK Ahmad Tibi votes in the 2019 election, Taybe, northern Israel, April 9. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Palestinians nearly absent from Israel’s Election Day news broadcasts

Israel’s leading news outlets included not a single Arab panelist on Election Day. The other stations didn’t fare much better. By Oren Persico Israel’s top-rated news channel did not include a single Arab speaker on Election Day last week, according to the “Representation Index,” a joint initiative of the Israeli NGO Sikkuy and Ifat Media…

By The Seventh Eye April 16, 2019

Avi Katz's cartoon depicting Netanyahu and Likud MKs as characters in George Orwells' 'Animal Farm, as published in 'The Jerusalem Report' on July 25, 2018. (Avi Katz)

‘Criticizing the government nowadays makes you a traitor’

Avi Katz, the cartoonist let go by ‘The Jerusalem Report’ over a caricature depicting Netanyahu and Likud lawmakers as characters from ‘Animal Farm,’ talks about what happened behind the scenes, why accusations of anti-Semitism are so off-base, and what the saga says about freedom of expression in Israel today. By Oren Persico Avi Katz wasn’t…

By The Seventh Eye September 23, 2018

Palestinians journalists cover clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces as near Ofer Military Prison, West Bank, August 3, 2016. (Flash90)

Israel arrests six Palestinian journalists for ‘incitement’

Dozens of Palestinian journalists protest to demand the release of 21 of their colleagues currently imprisoned by Israel. By Oren Persico Israeli security forces arrested six Palestinian journalists across the occupied territories over the past several days for alleged incitement. Four of the journalists — Alaa Rimawi, Mohamed Hamdan, Qoteiba Hamdan, and Hosni Angas —…

By The Seventh Eye August 6, 2018

Illustrative photo of a man reading "Israel Hayom," the Sheldon Adelson-funded newspaper (Moshe Shai/FLASH90).

An end to ‘apartheid polls’ in Israeli media?

Jews-only polls on matters relevant to the entire Israeli public and polls that present Jews-only polls as representing the views of the entire Israeli public constitute discrimination against the country’s Arab population, Israeli Press Council’s Ethics Court rules. By Oren Persico Excluding Israel’s Arab population from public opinion polls on matters of politics and policy…

By The Seventh Eye May 30, 2018