Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced on Wednesday morning that he has decided to shut down the Army Radio (Galei Tzahal) station.

Katz said, “As I have clarified—what was in the past will not continue. Galei Tzahal was established by the Israeli government as a military station to serve as a voice and ear for IDF soldiers and their families—not as a platform for broadcasting opinions, many of which attack the IDF and its soldiers.”

“The operation of a civilian radio station by the army is an anomaly with no parallel in any democratic state in the world. Continuing to operate the station involuntarily involves the IDF in political discourse and seriously harms its status as the people’s army and its national character.”

“Over the decades, from the 1950s until today, many defense ministers and chiefs of staff examined various options to close the station, remove it from the defense establishment, privatize it, or shut down its news division—but none of these steps were ever carried out.

“In the past two years, throughout the war, many soldiers and civilians—including bereaved families—have repeatedly complained that they feel the station does not represent them and even undermines the war effort and morale. Worse still, our enemies interpret these broadcasts as messages conveyed by the IDF itself.”

“I intend to bring the decision to close the station before the government soon—this is a necessary step to preserve the IDF’s national character and strengthen public trust in it.”

Katz stated that he will soon “submit a government resolution to approve the station’s closure by March 1, 2026 and establish a professional team within the Defense Ministry to oversee the implementation of the decision.”

“The implementation team will handle all aspects related to ending the station’s operations, foremost among them assisting the civilian IDF employees at the station to conclude their employment under appropriate arrangements while safeguarding their rights.”

“In addition, and in line with the recommendations of the committee that examined the station’s operations, the implementation team will work to preserve the operations of the Galgalatz (גלגל”צ) station, maintaining its character and mission—especially its role in promoting road safety awareness.

Galgalatz is a branch of Army Radio that broadcasts music and traffic reports 24 hours a day.

Unsurprisingly, Katz’s announcement elicited an outcry of protests from left-wing figures and entities and vows to fight the decision at the Supreme Court.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)