The Assault on Freedom of Communication in Israel following the October 7 Massacre and the Israel-Hamas War

Amit Schejter, HDI Visiting Scholar and Professor of Communication Studies at Ben-Gurion University, will examine the two dramatic events that took place in Israel during 2023: a government attempt to change the constitutional order and a brutal terror attack that led to an elongated armed conflict with Hamas, the organization controlling the neighboring Gaza Strip. Both events opened the floodgates to a barrage of legislative and administrative proposals by members of Israel’s ruling coalition, seeking to concentrate power with the executive and limit human rights. Professor Schejter’s study describes the proposals that emerged since the beginning of the war, sets them in the framework of a democracy in transition to autocratic rule, and examines them in the context of utilizing a military crisis to limit fundamental liberties. 

Amit Schejter, 2024–2025 Israel Institute Visiting Professor at the Helen Diller Institute; Professor of Communication Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

This event is open to UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff. A kosher lunch will be provided for all registrants beginning at noon.

REGISTER HERE.