Jerusalem\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The security camera pointed at the entrance of Channel 12\u2019s Tel Aviv headquarters captured the attack in all its simple brutality. A masked man ran toward the glass door of Israel\u2019s most-watched television channel and shattered it with a brick.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext time, the brick will be aimed at one of your heads,\u201d read an anonymous letter left at the scene, naming dozens of public figures. The letter included a warning: \u201cIn the end someone will die.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s attack was at least the third act of vandalism against an Israeli media outlet within a month and the latest in an escalating pattern of threats, graffiti and intimidation aimed at journalists, unfolding less than three months before Israel\u2019s October elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone who throws a stone at a glass door will throw it at a person\u2019s head,\u201d said Channel 12\u2019s main anchor Danny Kushmaro earlier in July. \u201cSomeone will die,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n
Journalists\u2019 organizations, opposition leaders and media outlets are pointing directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political allies, who routinely accuse mainstream media of bias and even aiding Israel\u2019s enemies.<\/p>\n
That hostile rhetoric, critics say, has helped create the conditions for violence, both to intimidate reporters ahead of the vote and, they fear, to lay the groundwork for disputing the result should Netanyahu lose.<\/p>\n
The October vote is shaping up to be one of Israel\u2019s most contentious in years, held against the backdrop of the war triggered by the October 7, 2023 attacks and questions over whether Netanyahu, Israel\u2019s longest-serving prime minister, can extend his hold on power.<\/p>\n
Earlier in July, masked attackers smashed the entrances of both Channel 12 and the left-leaning newspaper Haaretz in two separate incidents. In May and June, threatening graffiti appeared near Channel 12\u2019s offices and outside the home of a prominent journalist, warning they would \u201cpay with the blood of (their) loved ones.\u201d In November and December, graffiti sprayed near the Channel 13 studios said, \u201cThe blood of the traitors is yet to be broadcast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond vandalism, individual journalists known to be critical of Netanyahu have faced protests outside their homes, had critical billboards erected bearing their faces and street confrontations filmed and circulated by pro-government activists.<\/p>\n
One of the activists, Mordechai David, a 26-year-old known for confronting journalists and opposition figures, has previously been embraced by key coalition members such as far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.<\/p>\n
A common thread running through many of the threats, including the letter left at Channel 12\u2019s door, is a demand for an apology tied to coverage of the Sde Teiman affair, in which Israeli reservists were accused of alleged sexual abuse of a Palestinian detainee at a military detention center.<\/p>\n
Channel 12 broadcast leaked footage of the case in August 2024. That reporting led to criminal charges against several reservists, while the leak eventually resulted in the resignation of the army\u2019s top legal officer.<\/a><\/p>\n