Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1978

ISSN

0021-2237

Publisher

Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Law

Language

en-US

Abstract

This article is part of a broader effort to analyse the relationship between the press and the legal system in Israel. Being only a segment of a larger project, it is devoted in its entirely to one component of Israel's press law: the Press Ordinance of 1933 (hereafter Pr. Ord.). Although antiquated and considered by certain circles as merely a "dead letter", the Pr. Ord. still forms the backbone of Israel's press law, since it regulates so many aspects of the press. Beyond its relevance as positive law, the Pr. Ord. is of interest for a number of reasons. Having accompanied the press from its embryonic days in the early thirties, until its maturation today as a powerful "fourth branch" of the Government, the Pr. Ord. has left an ineradicable imprint on the Israeli conceptualisation of the acceptable relationship between press and Government. Furthermore, the story of why the Pr. Ord. was enacted and how it was utilised by the mandatory authorities, makes a fascinating case study of the behaviour of a colonial power under conditions of political and social crisis. Finally, an evaluation of the contemporary function of the Pr. Ord. may help us appraise the viability of such a statute in Israel and at the same time provide a more realistic base on which to found possible prescriptions for future change.

This article is divided into two parts. Part I presents a broad sketch of the Israel press law in general and the Pr. Ord. in particular, followed by a close examination of the history of the Pr. Ord. Part II, which will appear in a subsequent issue, probes the various elements of the Pr. Ord., investigates their function and describes their implementation. Finally, in light of this analysis, an attempt is made to evaluate the Pr. Ord. and reflect upon its role in present-day Israel.

Comments

Part 2 can be found here.

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