Israel Matzav

The ridiculousness of gag orders in the age of the internet

This might be the only country in the world that still thinks that they can block the publication of names of celebrities who have been accuses of crimes. And they can. At least from the public airwaves in Israel.

A famous Israeli singer (and draft dodger) is being investigated for taking advantage of underage girls. If you use Google, read blogs or Facebook (where I saw two identical pictures of him in the same place - one with his face scrambled), read anything from the Jewish community overseas, or watch Israel's Channel 1, you already know who this is.

But if you missed it, Channel 1 told the world last week. Let's go to the videotape.



Figured it out yet?

There's a blog in the US that has published that picture without the blurriness. You can search for it on Google. But if, like me, you're an Israeli, you're stuck publishing banal stories like this one from the Jerusalem Post.

Almost a week after a scandal involving a famous Israeli singer and allegations of sex with underage girls broke, the singer, his father, and two other men were brought in for questioning on Wednesday, Tel Aviv police said.

In addition to the singer, those being investigated include the manager of a well-known radio station and a Tel Aviv promoter.

The case, which broke last week and has dominated the media since, involves one of Israel’s most famous singers and a complaint made by one 15-year-old girl that she had sexual relations with him on more than one occasion.

The media has been rife with reports that people close to the singer “scouted” girls at his concerts and invited them to the parties, a report that police would not confirm on Sunday.

That allegation has been followed by testimony from other girls believed to be linked to the case, which was first opened months earlier.

In the meantime, the Israeli blogger who broke the story has been 'called in for questioning'....

Figured it out yet? Here's another hint.

The singer, for his part, said during a concert in Tel Aviv on Thursday night that “I had a difficult day, I could have canceled, but music conquers all.”

Hmmm.

Don't get me wrong - there is still a place for gag orders in society. For example, earlier this week it was disclosed that Israel has been holding an al-Qaeda specialist in biological weapons for the last three years. The news broke when the terrorist appealed to the Supreme Court to be released because he has not yet been placed on trial. The Supreme Court refused to free him.

But a gag order is only in place when Israel's security is involved. When what's at stake is the (already sullied) reputation of a teen idol, the gag order is out of place. Better that the girls should be warned about him. The age of Big Brother 'protecting' us should have ended a long time ago.

UPDATE 3:55 PM

Eyal Golan's name has now been cleared for publication. 

Labels: blogosphere, crime, internet regulation, Israeli national security, lawyers

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:34 AM