In line with new directives from the Prison Service, the ban on Israeli television channel 14 for prisoners will be lifted, albeit at the expense of the Sports Channel. Interestingly, this change will take effect shortly before the Champions League final. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir emphasized his pride in fostering a diversity of opinions and a broad spectrum of views within his department.
According to the religious Zionist news site Srugim, there was previously a covert order to block Channel 14, known for its right-wing stance, in prisons. Now, the Prison Service is rescinding this ban by incorporating Channel 14 into the TV channel lineup available to criminal prisoners.
To accommodate this change, some prisons will remove the sports channel. These adjustments were made following directives to broadcast all Israeli news channels in prisons on televisions installed in cells.
Prisoners are expressing frustration that, just before the Champions League final, their sole source of joy amid the hardships of incarceration is being revoked.
"They're taking away the Champions League to show Smotrich and Ben Gvir's news instead!" they protest. However, not everyone shares this discontent: some prisoners fail to comprehend why Channels 11, 12, and 13 were accessible while Channel 14 remained restricted.
The office of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir emphasized the minister's satisfaction with his policies, implemented by Acting Head of the Prison Service Major General Kobi Yaakobi, which enable prisoners to access a variety of viewpoints.
Ben Gvir's office labeled Channel 14 an important news source, previously unjustly banned from prisons, and underscored the minister's pride in ending political censorship of criminal inmates during his tenure. It is worth noting that prisoners convicted of security offenses do not have state-funded television access in their cells.
