Israeli Army Radio

Galei Tzahal combines military broadcasting with programming directed at the wider Israeli public: its two channels provide news and talk shows on one service and music and traffic reports on the other, although most listeners are civilians.[2] Its output includes news bulletins, current-affairs and cultural programs, and music, with particular attention to military and security subjects.[1] A 2024 academic account characterized its two stations as a popular, noncommercial alternative to public radio.[6]

The station’s stated mission connects journalism with public service, military service, and Israeli cultural life.[1] Its published vision calls for strengthening the relationship between the army and society, bridging social divisions, promoting professional and ethical journalism, and giving soldiers key responsibilities.[1] It also identifies Israeli heritage, education, culture, IDF service values, and road safety as areas of concern.[1]

Army Radio began broadcasting on September 24, 1950, continuing Haganah transmissions from the 1948 War of Independence.[4][7] Programs for soldiers previously carried by Kol Israel moved to the new station, which became an early competitor to the national broadcaster.[7] Its original purposes included entertaining troops and informing civilians about army life, with many later productions directed at young people approaching military service.[8]

The government decided to establish the station in September 1950, and an early challenge to its existence came in 1953, when a committee led by Pinhas Lavon considered closure or merger with Kol Yisrael; the proposal did not advance.[9] Army Radio remained institutionally distinct from the national broadcasting service: an archival educational document from 1983 identified Galei Zahal as IDF-operated and separately described Kol Israel as the national service whose first legal broadcast was the Declaration of Independence in 1948.[10]

Initially, Army Radio concentrated largely on military matters and broadcast for limited hours.[11] During the 1960s, a small staff of young soldiers and civilian workers attracted a larger audience through lively programming and innovations such as “The Red Telephone,” a call-in feature allowing listeners to report news they had witnessed.[11] The range and level of its programming expanded markedly after the 1967 Arab–Israel War.[8]

Surviving recordings preserve its wartime reporting: a commercial two-disc stereo collection dated approximately 1970 contains Six-Day War broadcasts by Kol Israel and Galei Zahal, including reports from northern Sinai, Jerusalem, Jenin, and the Golan Heights.[12] A separate photographic archival series from 1981 depicts Gabi Gazit broadcasting at Galei Tzahal and forms part of the Dan Hadani Archive.[13]

During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Army Radio became Israel’s first radio station to broadcast around the clock.[4] Under director Mordechai Naor, who served from 1974 to 1978, it extended broadcasting to the whole country and strengthened current-affairs coverage.[4] Its developing format included prominent interviews, entertainment, talk shows, poetry readings, and a colloquial style of Hebrew.[4]

The music-focused sister station Galgalatz was established in 1993.[9] Combining music with traffic reports, it became an influential platform for Israeli popular music and attracted listeners from Kol Yisrael.[4][11] By the period covered in a historical country study, Galei Tzahal was already a highly popular IDF broadcaster and one of Israel’s two leading radio services alongside the Israel Broadcasting Authority’s radio operation.[14]

Serving IDF soldiers work in reporting and editing alongside experienced journalists.[4] The station is situated within the military education system, alongside the magazine Bamahane; that system is headed by a Senior Education Officer holding the rank of brigadier-general.[15] Its public information page lists 96.6 as a broadcast frequency and describes a nationwide service operating since 1950.[1]

Army Radio’s educational programming has included “Broadcast University,” a series of academic lectures subsequently published as books.[4] Public participation has also formed part of its output, through a hotline for news tips and the earlier “Red Telephone” eyewitness-reporting feature.[4][11]

“Kola Shel Ima” is a flagship program for soldiers and their families that has aired for more than 40 years.[16] Its mobile broadcasting unit visits bases from Dan to Eilat, while parents and soldiers also connect with host Naomi Raviv in the studio.[16] The program page lists a Friday broadcast from 10:00 to 12:00 and includes episodes dated October 2026.[16]

The station has also carried military music events involving soldiers as participants rather than only listeners.[17] The competition finals to select the IDF’s official march were broadcast live from a concert hall, with troops voting at army bases alongside the audience.[17] Yoav Talmi’s “Tzahal Tzo'ed” won unanimously at the bases and became the IDF’s official march.[17]

During the Gulf War, the station arranged a Shabbat “silent band,” or gal shotek, broadcasting security bulletins but otherwise remaining silent.[3] The transmitter stayed open throughout Shabbat, reducing the need for broadcasting-related activity while providing listeners with air-raid alerts and instructions to take shelter.[3]

Cultural programs have included the Friday-afternoon show “Kabbalat Shabbat.”[18] An episode discussed in January 2026 explored the mallow plant in Israeli culture, including its symbolic role in the state’s early years and its revival since 2000.[18]

The broadcasting code sets out commitments to freedom of expression and the public’s right to reliable, relevant information.[1] It calls for verification, prompt correction of errors, differentiation between factual reporting and opinion or analysis where possible, and representation of differing views on matters of public significance.[1] Information of public interest should generally be considered for broadcast, and should not deliberately be withheld or aired to benefit a person or organization.[1] Staff must also follow the Military Censor’s instructions and submit specified material for prior review.[1]

Any person may submit a complaint or inquiry about GLZ or Galgalatz broadcasts.[19] The public inquiries officer may review the relevant recording and consult those involved, and the published procedure states that the officer has full freedom of action in investigating inquiries.[19] An annual report is submitted to the Chief Education and Youth Officer and the commander of Galei Tzahal.[19]

Army Radio has served as an incubator for journalists and media personalities who began their careers during military service.[4] Its alumni include Oded Ben-Ami, Yonit Levy, Sivan Rahav-Meir, Geula Even-Sa’ar, Daphna Liel, and Yair Cherki.[4] Journalist Michal Chinn also formerly worked at the station and at Channel 12 TV News.[20] Its young staff’s programming innovations helped expand its audience in the 1960s, and many graduates later became familiar voices and faces in Israeli broadcasting.[11]

The station’s cultural position has received academic attention, including a 2012 article titled “The anomaly of Galei Tzahal: Israel's Army Radio as a cultural vanguard and force for pluralism.”[21] Published in the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, volume 32, issue 2, pages 225–243, the article explicitly framed its subject around the station’s cultural role and pluralism.[21]

For its 70th year, the station produced “Station in Time,” a retrospective hosted by Yoav Ginai that combined archival recordings with interviews and recollections from former staff.[22] Stories included Tal Berman’s memories of covering the Arad Festival tragedy and a live Meir Banai performance for soldiers in Lebanon interrupted by artillery fire.[22] The series also recounted an incident in which Yaron London threw a smoke grenade in the record-library building.[22]

An audio exhibition marking 75 years of broadcasting was published on December 25, 2025.[23] Its segments addressed the first broadcast, the station’s role during Israel’s wars, and programs and personalities associated with its history.[23]

Army Radio’s status as both an IDF unit and a broadcaster of civilian news and politics has repeatedly prompted proposals for closure, reorganization, or civilian oversight.[4] Critics have variously alleged a center-left bias, hostility toward the IDF, or favoritism toward Likud, while questioning whether soldiers should interview politicians or whether the service fulfills a military purpose.[4] Its compliance with military censorship also reflects a broader tradition of cooperation between Israeli media and security institutions.[24]

During the 1980s, Chief of Staff Moshe Levy sought to reduce its budget and staff and end news broadcasts; in the early 1990s, Ehud Barak sought closure and transfer of its operations to the Education Ministry, but both initiatives failed.[4] Defense Minister Benny Gantz proposed closure, privatization, or other reorganization in 2020–2021.[4]

In November 2025, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced plans to end broadcasts by March 1, 2026, arguing that civilian-style journalism harmed the war effort and morale and conflicted with the military’s nonpartisan role.[5] The station’s chief called the proposed closure “a blow to press freedom.”[25] A November 13–16 survey found 49% opposed closure and 33.5% supported it; support reached 55%–61% among coalition and right-wing voters, while 71%–75% of opposition and center-left voters opposed it.[26] Opposition among Jews and Arabs was approximately 49%–51%.[26] The online survey interviewed 801 adults in Hebrew and 150 in Arabic, with a reported maximum sampling error of ±3.17% at 95% confidence.[26]

The cabinet unanimously approved closure in December 2025, but the High Court froze implementation during consideration of petitions.[5] On August 20, 2026, the court unanimously struck down the decision, finding that dissatisfaction with coverage and an effort to interfere with editorial content partly motivated it.[5] One justice also identified procedural flaws and an inadequate evidentiary basis for bias allegations.[5] The judgment made the provisional halt permanent but did not rule out a future closure pursued on lawful grounds.[5]