"If the president is fond of radio stations, he can set one up at the President's Residence," a source close to Katz said, as reported by Israeli media.

A source close to Defense Minister Israel Katz slammed President Isaac Herzog for his Thursday statement against Army Radio's closure.

"If the president is fond of radio stations, he can set one up at the President's Residence," a source close to Katz said, as reported by Israeli media.

"Only the Israeli government will make decisions, in accordance with its authority, regarding the closure of Army Radio."

Herzog said earlier that while he supports correcting Army Radio, he does not think that the media organization should be shut down.

"Yes to correction, no to destruction. When closing a media outlet, especially a public media outlet, it's not just about closing a channel, but a window to the public," Herzog said.

"We must not forget that when voices are erased, we lose not only a frequency, but also dialogue. Certainly, it is possible to correct, but not to completely erase a critical democratic tool – one that provides public broadcasting to us."

A professional team will oversee the closure

Army Radio is expected to air its last broadcast on March 1, 2026. Katz announced that a professional team will be established within the Defense Ministry to oversee the implementation of the decision, ensuring civilian employees at the station can end their employment under proper arrangements while safeguarding their rights.

Herzog acknowledged that the closure of the media outlet caused "great concern."

"In a time of political and social polarization and struggles over the character of Israeli democracy, the move to completely close a long-standing public media outlet in Israel raises great concern, and rightly so. There is no doubt, and no dispute, that the very existence of a military-public radio station in a liberal democracy is exceptional and worthy of review, even change and improvement."

Katz argues in his Wednesday statement, "Army Radio was established by the Israeli government as a military station to serve as a mouthpiece and an ear for IDF soldiers and their families - and not as a platform for voicing opinions, many of which attack the IDF and the IDF soldiers themselves."

Katz argued that continuing the station’s operation drags the IDF into political discourse and harms its reputation as the people’s army. “Operating a civilian radio station by the military is an anomaly that has no equal in any democratic country in the world,” he said.

Army Radio commander Tal Lev-Ram, who previously served as the military correspondent for The Jerusalem Post’s sister newspaper Maariv, said he would fight the closure before the High Court of Justice.

Pesach Benson/TPS and Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.