Israel suspends left-wing organisation from national service programme

Israeli authorities have suspended a left-wing organisation from its national service programme after complaints by right-wingers that it encourages draft dodging, reported Haaretz.

Israel Social TV, an independent media outlet since 2006 covering topics such as militarism, asylum-seekers and refugees’ rights, feminism and issues facing Palestinian citizens, was informed of the decision last week by Director of the Authority for National Civic Service.

The official informed Israel Social TV that they would not be able to hire national service volunteers, pending further investigation into complaints about them by an organisation called Betsalmo.

“With the examination’s completion, a decision will be made regarding the current volunteers’ continued service,” Jerb wrote.

According to Betsalmo’s complaint, Social TV broadcasts interviews with, and publishes Facebook posts about, conscientious objectors who refuse to enlist for Israel’s mandatory military draft.

Read: Top Israel court strikes down military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox

The Israeli authorities claimed that the right-wing activists had provided “numerous [pieces of] evidence of Social TV’s activity to encourage draft dodging, which is forbidden by law”.

Haaretz reported that Social TV employees said they had not been notified of the complaint or the probe into their work until they received the official letter announcing the suspension.

“The interviews with the draft evaders are meant to provide a clean, clear voice to people who usually don’t get this from [mainstream] media outlets,” said Ehud Shem Tov, Social TV’s CEO.

In 2014, human rights NGO B’Tselem was banned from being allowed to receive national service volunteers, on the basis it acts against the state and the army, a decision subsequently reversed.

Israel is censoring Palestinians, and the social media giants are complicit