Jerusalem —
Surveillance cameras pointed at the entrance to Channel 12’s Tel Aviv headquarters captured the entire act of simple brutality. A masked man ran towards the glass door of Israel’s most-watched television channel and smashed it with a brick.
An anonymous letter left at the scene listed the names of dozens of celebrities and said: “Next time a brick will be aimed at one of your heads.” The letter contained a warning: “Someone will die in the end.”
Tuesday’s attack was the third act of vandalism against an Israeli news organization in at least a month, and the latest in an escalating pattern of threats, graffiti and intimidation targeting journalists that has unfolded in the less than three months leading up to Israel’s elections in October.
“If you throw a rock at a glass door, you’re throwing a rock at someone’s head,” Channel 12 main anchor Danny Kushmaro said in early July. “Someone is going to die,” he warned.
Journalist organizations, opposition leaders, and media outlets have pointed directly at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political allies, who routinely accuse mainstream media of bias and even of supporting Israel’s enemies.
Critics say the hostile rhetoric has helped create the conditions for violence, fearing that it will intimidate reporters ahead of the vote and lay the groundwork for Prime Minister Netanyahu to contest the results if he loses.
October’s vote is shaping up to be one of Israel’s most contentious in years, against the backdrop of the war sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and questions over whether Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, can extend his hold on power.
In early July, masked assailants destroyed the entrances to both Channel 12 and the leftist newspaper Haaretz in two separate incidents. In May and June, threatening graffiti appeared near Channel 12’s offices and outside the homes of prominent journalists, warning that they would “pay with the blood of[their]loved ones.” In November and December, graffiti appeared near Channel 13’s studios that read, “Blood of a Traitor has not aired yet.”
In addition to the vandalism, individual journalists known to be critical of Prime Minister Netanyahu have faced protests in front of their homes, critical signs bearing their faces have been erected, and street clashes have been filmed and distributed by pro-government activists.
One of the activists, Mordechai David, 26, is known for his confrontations with journalists and opposition figures, but has been supported by key coalition members, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
Common to many of the threats, including the letter left on Channel 12’s door, is a demand for an apology related to coverage of the Sude Teiman incident, in which an Israeli reservist was accused of sexually abusing Palestinian detainees in a military detention center.
Channel 12 aired leaked footage of the incident in August 2024. The report led to criminal charges against several reservists, and ultimately the leak led to the resignation of the military’s top legal officer.
Right-wing politicians and commentators, especially on pro-Netanyahu Channel 14, denounced the incident as a “blood libel” against the military. Under pressure from these right-wing figures, the case was closed by a new military attorney general, citing evidentiary and procedural deficiencies.
Channel 12, Israel’s most popular news network, laid the blame for the attack at the feet of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government.
“The blood of Channel 12’s journalists cannot be forgiven,” the station said in a statement Tuesday.
Outside the station’s studio, Democratic Party leader Yair Golan, whose name appeared in the anonymous letter, said the attack was “hurled directly from the prime minister’s office.”
CNN has contacted the Prime Minister’s Office for comment. There is no evidence to suggest that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office was involved in the incident.
Gadi Eisenkot, seen as a likely challenger to Prime Minister Netanyahu in the upcoming election, accused the government of carrying out a “systematic and unrestrained campaign of incitement against journalists.” And former Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the attack was an attempt to “undermine the election and prepare the ground for not accepting defeat.”
Israel’s journalists’ union said the attack “did not occur in a vacuum” and warned that when journalists are “marked” as enemies, “those will turn this poison into action.” The group also noted that the timing, three months before the election, was important and said it was in touch with police chiefs about additional protections for journalists.
On Thursday, police arrested a suspect in the case. Police sources told CNN that Shin Bet security services were also involved in the investigation.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and most of his allies have yet to publicly condemn the violence. Those who did voice their condemnation linked it to continued criticism of mainstream networks.
Minister Nir Barkat of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party criticized the vandalism, but said Channel 12 had “harmed” Israeli soldiers and appealed to the public to switch channels and seek legal action instead. Minister Amichai Eliyahu of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party tweeted that he opposed violence, but added that journalists and legal officials involved in the Sude Teyman case should themselves be brought to justice.
Tensions are rising over a long-standing rift between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s mainstream press.
He has not given interviews on any of the three major channels in more than four years, appearing only on Channel 14, which is aligned with his political base, and whose anchors frequently portray Channel 12 and mainstream broadcasters as hostile and unpatriotic.
One commentator recently said that stations like Channel 12 “do not belong to Israel.” The prime minister’s allies at Channel 14 also publicly pressured the head of Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, David Zini, to question Channel 12 journalists over alleged leaks about the timing of the February 28 attack on Iran.
The steady decline in Israel’s press freedom is reflected in international rankings.
In Reporters Without Borders’ 2026 World Press Freedom Ranking, Israel was ranked 116th out of 180 countries, down from 112th the previous year, 101st in 2024, and 86th in 2022. The group attributes this decline primarily to wartime restrictions, increased security-based censorship, and restrictions on coverage of the Palestinian issue. War in 2023.
The Netanyahu government is moving beyond rhetoric to reshape regulations. A newly passed broadcasting law replaced Israel’s independent media regulator with a political appointee empowered to issue fines and sanctions on media outlets. At the same time, the government eased financial and regulatory constraints on Channel 14.
The government describes the overhaul as a market reform aimed at scrapping outdated rules and promoting competition. News organizations and opposition parties say the policy gives politicians more influence over editorial content.
Major broadcasters, opposition politicians and grassroots groups have petitioned the High Court to strike down the law, arguing it causes “unprecedented” damage to press freedom. The court issued an interim order prohibiting the immediate provisions of the Act from taking effect until a decision is rendered.
But court rulings aimed at protecting press freedom will do little to mend the rift between the government and media, nor will it allay Israeli journalists’ concerns about escalating violence.
