U.S. to examine censorship in Israel

The United States government is examining reports on the intensified role of state censorship in Israeli media.

American officials have begun collecting information on the activities of the military censor, in preparation of the annual State Department report on human rights in various countries.

The report is expected to include a section on the limits to the freedom of expression in Israel.

The American officials have expressed interest in the criteria used by the censor for banning a news item. They are also keen to learn of the activities of a special committee - "the tribunal" - that deliberates cases brought before it by the chief military censor, Colonel Miri Regev, and of the media, which is partner to the censorship agreement.

Another point of interest for the Americans are the fines issued against media for violating the censorship agreement.

Still, sources at the military censor justified their decision to ban news items by claiming that they were acting at the behest of the Bush administration to "moderate information."

To representatives of the media who complained at the banning of the items, the military censor said it was done following a request from Washington.

It is unclear whether the American administration is operating on two directly opposing fronts - one that regards Israeli censorship as damaging to human rights, and the other seeking to utilize it to further U.S. interests. The possibility also exists that there are those in Israel seeking to deflect public criticism and use the claim of "American pressure" to justify problematic decisions.

In the last American report on human rights it was said that censorship in Israel is limited to the banning of news in cases of "very near certainty of damaging security interests" of the state.

However, American officials have followed up news in Israel and claim there is an intensified effort to enforce censorship, especially in the demand to the media to file for authorization in areas of news where censorship has not been exercised in recent years.