''Arutz Sheva'' (), also known in English as ''Israel National News'', is an Israeli media network identifying with

religious Zionism Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...

. It offers online news articles in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, English, and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

as well as live streaming radio, video and free podcasts. It also publishes a weekly newspaper, ''

B'Sheva ''B'Sheva'' () is a weekly Hebrew language newspaper published in Israel. The first issue of ''B'sheva'', published by Arutz Sheva, appeared on July 19, 2002. It is distributed free on Thursdays in religious population centers. Readership The ...

'', with the third-largest weekend circulation in the country.

History

In the 1970s an

offshore radio Offshore radio is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures. Offshore broadcasters are usually unlicensed but transmissions are legal in international waters. This is in contrast to unlicensed broadcasting on land or within a nat ...

station

Voice of Peace Voice of Peace (, ''Kol HaShalom'') was an offshore radio, offshore radio station that broadcast in the Middle East for 20 years from the former Dutch cargo vessel ''MV Peace'' (formally ''MV Cito''), anchored off the Israeli coast in the E ...

was launched, broadcasting pacifistic messages. In response, Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed launched radio station ''Arutz Sheva'' in 1988, aimed at Israelis opposed to negotiations with the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

. Based in

Beit El Beit El or Beth El () is an Israeli settlement and local council (Israel), local council located in the Binyamin Region of the West Bank. The Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish town was settled in 1977–78 by the ultranationalist group Gush Emu ...

, the station generated its broadcast on the Israeli airwaves from the ship MV ''Eretz HaTzvi'' in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. It was one of the first

Internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...

stations and was used as a beta tester for

RealPlayer RealPlayer, formerly RealAudio Player, RealOne Player and RealPlayer G2, is a cross-platform media player (software), media player app, developed by RealNetworks. The media player is compatible with numerous container file formats of the multimed ...

. From 1996 to 2002, ''Arutz Sheva'' broadcast in

. In 2003, ''Arutz Sheva'' ceased its radio operations after attempts to legalize it were unsuccessful. In 2020,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

reported that Arutz Sheva along with '' Algemeiner'', ''

The Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' (ToI) is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012 and has since become the largest English-language Jewish and Israeli news source by audience size. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist Dav ...

'' and ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' had published op-eds written under a false identity. The supposed author, Oliver Taylor, was an "elaborate fiction".

Legal dispute

In February 1999, the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

passed a law granting a license to ''Arutz Sheva'' and absolving it of earlier illegal broadcasting, but this was appealed to the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

, which ruled the law null and void in March 2002. In October 2003, ten employees of ''Arutz Sheva'' were convicted of operating an illegal radio station during the period 1995–98, both from inside Israeli territorial waters and from

. The defendants were fined and sentenced to 3–6 months of community service. The prosecution appealed, attempting to get heavier sentences, but were strongly criticized by the appellate court for their handling of the case, and the prosecution was told to drop the appeal or face an investigation into their conduct during the entire trial. Station director Ya'akov "Katzele" Katz was also convicted on two counts of perjury for having lied about the location of the broadcasts. In 2006, Katz was pardoned by President

Moshe Katsav Moshe Katsav (; born Musa Qassab; 5 December 1945) is an Israeli former politician and was the president of Israel from 2000 to 2007. He was also a leading Likud member of the Israeli Knesset and a minister in its Cabinet of Israel, cabinet. He ...

Departments

Internet

''Arutz Sheva'' has been running its website since 1995. Editor-in-chief is Uzi Baruch, who succeeded Baruch Gordon and Hillel Fendel. Today, three versions of the site are offered:

, English and

. It includes news articles, news briefs, videos, op-eds, a

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

section, opinion polls and caricatures. ''Arutz Sheva'' offers online streaming videos in Hebrew and English with news anchor and producer Yoni Kempinski,

reporter Hezki Ezra, overseas correspondent Eliran Aharon and others. ''Arutz Shevas jukebox offers a selection of

Jewish music Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and in domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may origina ...

including Israeli, Hassidic and

Mizrahi ''Mizrachi'' or ''Mizrahi'' () has two meanings. In the literal Hebrew meaning ''eastern'', it may refer to: * Mizrahi Jews, Jews from the Middle East and North Africa * Mizrahi (surname), a Sephardic surname, given to Jews who got to the Iberia ...

songs, as well as music for

Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. ...

and special events.

Radio

Israel National Radio is ''Arutz Shevas English language

internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...

station, operating in

. It broadcasts primarily across the Internet, is simulcast on radio stations in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and affirms its purposes as being to spread the word of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and Israel supporters in the English-speaking world as well as Anglophones living in Israel, and to be the archetypal "

Light Unto the Nations Light to the nations (; also "light of the nations", "light of all nations", "light for all nations") is a term originated from the prophet Isaiah which is understood by some to express the universal designation of the Israelites as mentors for ...

." During shows, people can phone in on international toll-free numbers or chat with other listeners. The station's slogan is "the largest independent newstalk network in the Middle East." Israel National Radio is made up of news on the hour and live and pre-recorded podcasts. These shows include current affairs commentaries, general talk shows, music, and

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

programs. The podcasts on the station include Tamar Yonah,

Yishai Fleisher Yishai Fleisher (; born 1976) serves as the international spokesperson for the Jewish Community of Hebron. He is a podcast host, pro-Israel advocate and political advisor. Fleisher speaks English, Hebrew and Russian and has been described as "a ...

, ''The Struggle'' (with Yehuda HaKohen), ''Israel Beat'' (a music program), ''Walter's World'' (with Walter Bingham), ''Land Minds'' (with Dovid Wilner and Barnea Selavan), ''Temple Talk'' (hosted by Rabbi Chaim Richman), ''A Light Unto The Nations'', ''The Jay Shapiro Show'', ''Torah Tidbits Audio'' (with Phil Chernofsky), and ''The

Aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

Revolution'' (co-hosted by Go'el Jasper and Daniel Esses).

Print

'' is Israel's third most widely read weekly newspaper, with a 6.8% exposure rate, according to the TGI survey. The paper is distributed free to over 150,000 homes.

Political stance

''Arutz Sheva'' sees itself as a counterbalance to " 'negative thinking' and ' post-Zionist' attitudes." It has been identified with the

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

movement.

References

External links

* {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Arutz Sheva'' 1988 establishments in Israel Community radio stations English-language radio stations English-language websites Former pirate radio stations Hebrew-language websites Internet radio stations Israeli news websites Israeli political websites Jewish radio Websites about Jews and Judaism Mass media companies of Israel Multilingual news services Multilingual websites News and talk radio stations Offshore radio broadcasters Radio stations established in 1988 Radio stations in Israel Religious mass media in Israel Religious Zionist organizations Russian-language mass media in Israel Russian-language websites Words and phrases in Modern Hebrew