REAL freedom of expression is not most Israeli journalists supporting a party, MERETZ, which represents only 2.5% of Israelis!

No mercy for the weak, sometimes discretion and secrecy are required. Otherwise you come up with false goldstones. Yair, themedia is definnitely leftist but who cares about labels. it is that you and the media deligitimize israel, you gloss over israeli historical claims which are stonger than arabs, and you understate arab lies and misdeeds. There is another problem. You and your father supported and helped to sanitize olmert, the most gutless israeli PM in history who cost lots of israeli blood and who has handicapped israeli negotiators by his chamberlain concessions. Only a self hating jew could offer what he did. And youhelped bring him topower. So to me, you words are worthless and you are unfit to be PM. You elegant rationalizations are empty rubbish.

The israeli press works full time to destroy israel and the jewsih people. Joseph Goebbels is a role model for the Israeli press.

"Apparently, we love Arabs, are fans of terrorism, serve as the emissaries of dark, malicious organizations, are submissive slaves of evil foundations and crappy people in general. And yes, all of the above is a quote. " Well, I can't speak for Israeli news media, but I'd sure describe most U.S. news media that way.

I'm sure the Russians would not agree with TEPID LAPID

The question is what people make of your (whoever's) reporting. If in the context of defending Israel's security people can't discern from your reporting what the enemy's stand is in comparison to the details you've reported, then you've not done your job. If for example you continually portray Netanyahu as 'bad' and Abbas as 'good' then you have to provide a fuller context to help people understand your evaluation and its implications. Then folks can determine if your reporting is balanced or not. This is not happening and as a result, the international media picks out only the negative about Israel without its larger context. And that then tends to reinforce negative stereotypes about Israel. It's those stereotypes -used very effectively by your enemies - that help make the case that Israel doesn't really deserve to exist (while Palestine really does deserve to exist.)

I guess that why anything right of left is censored in Haaretz. How many talk backs and articles do you see right of left that is printed there?

Hiding behind freedom of speech, behind the notion of democracy's last line of defense or behind wanting to be the ones believing in something bigger ... is all "uber" pretentious and absolutely disgusting. The problem is not the media in itself but when a media organ is "twisting or spinning" reality solely to advance its political agenda. All media sell us that they are fair, balanced and objective. The truth is that virtually none are fair, balanced and objective. When the media is letting the people know that their democratically elected leader is fouling them and acting like a thug, the media is finally doing its job. We should not thank them for doing their job once a century (I recognize that I am not being fair, balanced and objective on that one - not like others). The leftist media in my home country are simply irresponsible in their evaluation of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Israel is always portrayed as a villain aggressor with a horrific taste for taking pleasure in making innocents suffer. Now, how can peace be solved when the bottom line is that one side is the sole problem? With this notion in place, the Palestinians have a free (out-of-jail) card to use any means to advance their cause. Because idiots in France will then say, I understand what pushes a man or woman to blow him/her self up among civilians in that case! With this equation the absolutely unacceptable is accepted and the aggressor is the victim, hence we (the world) see no reason why we should oppose them. When this appens in France, I am gutted but when its happens in Israel, I feel completed stabbed in the heart. In my books the media (and especially the leftist ones) are directly preventing peace to advance and indirectly instigating terrorism.

The majority of Israelis realize we have a serious problem in our media. A media which on nearly every political / social issue has a very strong agenda and opinion, and proceeds to thrust it down people's throats ceaselessly. We become a people literally bombarded not by Hamas, but by our own own social engineers with their massive megapohones trying to steer and control our democracy by poounding into us notions and ideas like a brainwashing. Sometime the mask falls totally off, and this is plain/shocking to see, a good example is the past Kadima leadership primary where the entire media basicallyy stole democracy to achieve a political outcome it desired. People were shocked, the media unapolagetic. It's the height of stupidity the basic notion that Israelis are objecting to Yair Lapid and his ilk because we oppose free speech, it shows that even though this left wing ultra liberal agenda is clear to everyone here, the top media figures are not sorry, not admitting there is a serious problem - Rather blaming the very people they abuse for opposing free speech. I'd fire them all, starting with Yair Lapid.

I love Lapid, evrything he says is true, I think if he became pm instead of Netanyahu, Israel would be much better off

Lapid the worst of the leftests saying the media is not lreftest The medi is the most anti Israel leftest rubbish. I as many do not read the media and fortunately there are many foreign programmes to see on TV The suppose to be freedom of speech is always used untruthfully ,full of lies and false in most of its writings.The leftests twist the lines of the media in attempts to ask the population to read or hear only junk

is possible only in democratic countries. For the socialist (leftist) countries there is another term - "news blackout". Must be very nice to be cool left journalists (like you, Mr. Lapid) in democratic countries (like Israel). Try to be cool journalist in Syria, Belarus. In democratic countries, leftist journalists only form a "brain folds" of the governments. In leftist countries “freedom of expression” is impossible (not difficult), even deadly. Remember Anna Politkovskaya. No country in the world not have only "negative” or “positive” global image.

Israels medias are under controll of "millitary censors"? Is that so?

Oy. Here go the right wingers again blaming all of our ills on the "leftist media". Morons. Of course the media is leftist. By definition the media reports on what's happening and questions those in power. They do the same thing when the left is in power (but the media is arguably less focused). And when right wingers try to start their own media as an answer, they either end up producing more leftist reporting than they expected, or they simply have paid propagandists put out the material that they themselves want to hear - so it simply isn't "news" (oy, just look at Arutz 7 if you want a prime example of a phony "news" organization). As an alleged "right-winger" (simply for living where I do), I just LOVE Israel's media! We have 3 tv channels that hotly compete with each other and give fantastic coverage. The Knesset channel has great programming (carumba! Haredi hosts of public affairs news!!!). Reshet Bet and Israel Army Radio still go head-to-head and have great programming, albeit some of the Kol Yisrael people do indeed make me puke with their ignorance and blind support for the failed Oslo peace process. In the newspaper market, heck, you have a dozen daily papers that are NOT good. This is where Lapid and I diverge, because Israeli newspapers SUCK! They have low standards for accuracy and factual reporting, they employ too many columnists who are poor mouthpieces for the radical views they support, and they are making no visible effort to improve the quality of their written product. Israel does indeed have great media. If you don't like, then go compete with Arutz 7 and open a real news agency.

Our media only prints leftist opinion. And it is the MINORITY opinion in Israel. The left CONTROLS the media and blacks out rightwing opinion. This is democracy??? This totalitarian leftist media delegitimizes and demoralizes its own country, its own government and it own people. I believe thats called treason.

Lapid, you write that the movie "All the President's Men" lead you to decide, at a young age, that "one day you'd become a journalist". When will that day arrive, Lapid? I'm betting never. Think about all the dumb destructive things the Israeli left has pushed Israel to do; fleeing South Lebanon, fleeing Gaza, Oslo, freeing terrorists...The leftist media has been 100% behind each and every one of them. Today, the leftist media is still urging Israel to harm herself in many, many ways. Israel is a centre right country and we need media which reflects that fact. Israel needs an equivalent of America's patriotic Fox News and a generally far more patriotic right wing media.

The fact that you feel the need to defend yourself is prove that what people say it's true. If not, why on earth to have those feelings? You are part of the show business, not a media person and not a politician.

But here is what happens in the UK's leading liberal newspaper, discussing Israel. Read the comments for reasonable discussion of why I'm citing it. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/nov/04/1

Nonstop nonsense guaranteed.

According to Mr. Lapid, anyone who does not agree with him is either a supporter of criminal government conspiracies or of Soviet style subjugation of the press. I live in an area of the globe where there are some curbs on the freedom of expression. An area called Europe. Let me give a few examples of this repression. Where I live you can get jail time for Holocaust denial and the promotion of antisemitism. I do not feel less free because of these laws. Strange enough, in Israel there seem to be more supporters of the freedom to promote Jew-hatred than in Europe. A recent example: Haaretz reported on the remarks of President Peres concerning a possible strike on Iran. It also published after moderation more than 100 antisemitic comments on these remarks. Some called for a new Holocaust of the Jews. Many comments that were not anti-Jewish were not deemed fit for publication. As these comments were published after moderation, the editors could be prosecuted for promoting antisemitism in most of Europe. BTW, Israel is the only country where many Jewish journalists make their living as cheerleaders for Jew-haters. It is also the only country where journalists cohabit with their existential enemies to pressure their political enemies. How proud you must be. No wonder "there is no other country you would want to live in."

WE should be proud of this?

the media is neither left nor right but capitalist. the content serves to sell advertising. left wing papers are read by left wingers; right wing papers by right wingers. discourse on the topic merely serves to sell more advertising space. now, try to get in an article on the media monopoly and THEN see how far you get with the editors...

Biased politically linked journalists do a disservice to the public which is Israel HaYom has over taken the market. Given an alternative the public will make the Lapid et al obsolete. Next in line is making tv and radio less captive to leftist dictates

As for Yair, you bettre go back to your ivory tower.You do more harm than good to Israel. The majority of Israelis will not support you.

In particular, its writers, Amira Hass and Gideon Levy hate Israel.

It is well the right instant to bring to your attention, the Censure of Tkbk, in this particular subject that deals with freedom of expression, that mine has been somehow denied in many occasions. I have tried to contribute, intelligently for your taste, to the discussion of various forums. However, the last Tkbks I had the 'temerity' to Post , or try to, have been rejected somehow: it couldn't be a mistake! So in the name of freedom of my expression is there a way to explain why you had hard time to Post my contributions, which I admit are very high brow to your taste, and very much intelligent to your level of appreciation, especially when such a contribution originate from a Mosoccan, a Jewish Moroccan. So if the freedoms of thought, expression, speech, dear to you as they are dear to me, see if you may Post this Tkbk; thank you.

B"H - There is a difference Yair Lapid: Woodward and Bernstein were up against the establishment. You are with it, fighting off change. What a sorrow figure you are!