Army Radio to be transferred from IDF to the Defense Ministry
The decision to transfer the radio station was made by Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman and Chief of Staff Eisenkot to allow the IDF to focus more on core tasks; Army Radio will now be a unit within the Ministry of Defense.
The discussion regarding the place of Army Radio was held at the behest of IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, who sought to examine the prospect of transferring the radio station out of the army in order to focus on core tasks of the IDF.
The decision means that Army Radio will now function as a unit within the Ministry of Defense and will no longer be subordinate to the IDF's Manpower Directorate. However, it will continue to serve soldiers and civilians alike, but under the authority of the Ministry of Defense.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defense said, "This decision is in line with the opinion of the attorney general and is subject to the creation of control mechanisms and appropriate arrangements that will ensure the independence, professionalism, and impartial programming and organization of the station."
The commander of Army Radio, Yaron Dekel, circulated a letter to employees, saying, "As reported tonight, the minister of defense has decided, based on the recommendation of the chief of staff, to transfer Army Radio from the IDF to the Ministry of Defense. I ask that everyone be patient with commentary regarding the move and wait until additional information is made available. The quality work of Army Radio will continue regardless of background noise."
The director general of the Ministry of Defense has created a team tasked with organizing the transfer of the radio station to the Ministry of Defense. The move is expected to be completed by May 1, 2017.
