Derekh Hanitzotz
TypeWeekly newspaper
PublisherHanitzotz–Al Sharara
Political alignmentLeftist
LanguageHebrew
Ceased publicationFebruary 1988
CountryIsrael
Sister newspapersTariq Al Sharara

Derekh Hanitzotz (Hebrew: The Way of the Spark) was an Israeli weekly newspaper which was closed by the Israeli authorities in 1988. It was the first Hebrew-language newspaper banned in Israel.[1]

History and profile

Derekh Hanitzotz was started by the leftist figures who left the Matzpen movement.[2] It was published by Hanitzotz–Al Sharara company on a weekly basis.[3][4] The editors of the paper included Israeli Jews, and one of them was a Palestinian.[1] The paper had an Arabic sister newspaper entitled Tariq Al Sharara.[5] It had a leftist political leaning.[1] Le Monde reported that the paper had a circulation of 800 copies and that its Arabic version had a circulation of 3,000 copies.[2]

Derekh Hanitzotz specialized in investigative reports and news about the events in the Palestinian territories.[2] Roni Ben-Efrat, a journalist for the paper, published an article in March 1987 about a pregnant Palestinian women, Naila Ayesh, who was arrested and tortured denying medical treatment.[6] However, this news was not commonly featured in the Israeli media outlets except for now-defunct Hadashot.[6]

The license of Derekh Hanitzotz was revoked by the Jerusalem District Commissioner in February 1988 due to its alleged connection with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.[5] Immediately after its closure several journalists working for Derekh Hanitzotz were arrested and tried. Felicia Langer, a lawyer and human rights activist, headed the legal team defending these journalists.[7] Their trial ended in January 1989, and most of them were sentenced to imprisonment with varying periods.[3] After their release from prison these people left Israel and settled in Germany.[7]

The case of Derekh Hanitzotz was one of the actions which Israel carried against the internal opposition groups during the early period of the First Intifada.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Al Miskin". MERIP. No. 154. 25 September 1988. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Israel Deux rédactrices de "Derech Hanitzotz" inculpées d'appartenance à une " organisation terroriste "". Le Monde (in French). 25 May 1988. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 Barbara Harlow (1989). "Narrative in prison: Stories from the Palestinian". Modern Fiction Studies. 35 (1): 43. JSTOR 26282980.
  4. ↑ Stephen Franklin (26 January 1989). "Israel imprisons 4 leftist editors for link to Palestinian terrorists". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  5. 1 2 Robert Banvolgyi (1988). "The Israeli journalists' trial". Index on Censorship. 17 (9): 2. doi:10.1080/03064228808534526.
  6. 1 2 Meron Rapoport (7 November 2018). "As a journalist, I learned not to believe anything the Israeli army says". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "She was there for us". Challenge. Translated by Robert Goldman. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
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