As Israelis tuned in to hear about what seemed, for a few terrible days, the opening shots in a long-anticipated war, reporters on the Knesset beat scrambled urgently for information. Ehud Olmert appeared in view, projecting his usual elastic confidence. \u2018Prime Minister,\u2019 shouted the reporters, \u2018what is your comment about the Syrian claim of an Israeli infiltration?\u2019 The prime minister didn\u2019t even slow down. \u2018I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about,\u2019 he said, and disappeared behind the meeting-room door. For the next few days, this would be the only official comment the citizens would have on an incident that could have plunged their country into another war.<\/p>\n
Three weeks on, there is still very little knowledge of what actually occurred in north-west Syria, or why. Aside from a couple of comments from low-ranking politicians and a heap of rumours, all the information we Israelis got came with the talisman prefix of \u2018foreign sources claim\u2019. Veteran columnist Gideon Levy bitterly complained in a Ha\u2019aretz op-ed<\/a>: \u2018We can rely on friends like the United States: our faithful ally has once again come to our assistance. Were it not for the American media, we would know nothing whatsoever about that mysterious night…\u2019<\/p>\n The stoic silence of Israeli leaders, usually notorious for their verbosity, may not be as remarkable. The politicians, the disgruntled officers, people\u2019s friends and cousins in the intelligence service and all the usual sources appear to operate normally. Rather, what seems to be taking place, is classic, tight-screwed censorship. As of the night of the attack, a strict injunction order was imposed on all Israeli media, under the Emergency Regulations of 1945 – British WWII orders granting the state extensive powers, which continue to exist side by side with normal statutory law. Any material, including translations from foreign sources and op-eds relating to the attack, was faxed for censorship prior to going on paper or online. Some things got through; many things did not.<\/p>\n \u2018This is infuriating,\u2019 said one prominent columnist, who preferred to remain unnamed. \u2018If they want to keep officials in the government, the army, even the judiciary quiet – fine. The real problem begins when they are shutting up people trying to voice opinions. I\u2019m not allowed to say whether I think what Israel did in Syria is right or wrong. I\u2019m not even allowed to say whether there is anything to be right or wrong about.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018The newspapers, as far as I\u2019m aware, have not tried to appeal to the courts to lift the censorship – or even for permission to inform their readers that it\u2019s actually there. The media is not keen to get sued every other day, and the censors are not too fond of court appearances; so a kind of a working relationship takes place. I don\u2019t remember the military censors being significantly challenged on any point in recent years.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018The Israeli media already knows what happened,\u2019 says military expert Dr Reuven Pedatzur of Tel Aviv University. \u2018They can\u2019t write anything, because the censorship is very strict. I have no explanation for why it is so tight – normally Israel likes to brag about its military – but it\u2019s very obviously there. If you read the papers carefully, you can see they\u2019re dropping clues.\u2019<\/p>\n