Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Tuesday that he has accepted recommendations to shut down the military radio station Galei Tzahal (Army Radio), ending decades of public broadcasting by the IDF.
Katz said the station will cease operations no later than March 1, 2026, calling the move necessary to preserve the IDF’s nonpartisan character. The decision follows months of review by an advisory committee he appointed in June to examine the station’s future.
“What was, will be no more,” Katz said in a statement. “Galei Tzahal was established as a military station to serve soldiers and their families—not as a platform for opinions, many of which attack the IDF and its soldiers. Operating a civilian radio station by the military is an anomaly unheard of in any democratic country.”
The defense minister said continuing the station’s broadcasts “forces the IDF into political discourse” and undermines its standing as a unifying national institution.
Under the decision, Katz will bring a proposal to the government for formal approval. An implementation team will handle all aspects of the closure, including arrangements for the station’s civilian employees to ensure their rights are protected.
At the same time, the team will work to preserve the Galgalatz station—Galei Tzahal’s popular music and traffic channel—while maintaining its format and public character.
Katz said that over the past two years, during the ongoing war, soldiers and civilians, including bereaved families, complained that the station no longer represented them and sometimes harmed the war effort and morale. “Our enemies interpret these broadcasts as messages coming from the IDF itself,” he said. “Closing the station is essential to protecting the IDF’s national character and strengthening public trust.”
The advisory committee, formed in June 2025, submitted its report last month with two main options: closing Galei Tzahal or ending its current-affairs programming. Katz thanked the committee for its “thorough and professional work” and said the current situation could not continue.
The Union of Journalists in Israel slammed Katz's order, saying, “Israel Katz will not close a media outlet in the State of Israel. The organization will fight this foolish decision until it is overturned. Army Radio will not be shut down.”
According to the Defense Ministry, the committee held 19 days of deliberations between August and October, hearing from dozens of representatives of the defense establishment, the media, academia, culture, civil society, and bereaved families. Members also toured the Galei Tzahal and Galgalatz studios.
The committee was the first to issue an open call for public input, receiving more than 5,000 responses. Its 47-page report found that Galei Tzahal’s annual budget stands at 52 million shekels, with 87 percent funded by advertising and sponsorships.
The report reviewed several alternatives, including privatization, transferring the station to another government body, or limiting its news coverage. It also noted that this was the 13th committee to review the station’s future—an issue first raised in 1953.