Arutz Sheva Key Dates 3

Arutz Sheva - Key Dates (3)

2001

19th October 2003	A law, similar to the UK's 1967 Marine etc. Broadcasting (Offences) Act was passed by the Israeli Cabinet, making it illegal for companies to advertise on a ‘pirate’ radio station.
20th October 2003	Jerusalem Magistrates Court convicted 10 Arutz Sheva directors and staff members of operating an illegal radio station during the period 1995-1998, both from inside Israeli territorial waters and from Beit El in the West Bank. Station director Ya'akov Katz (Ketzaleh) was also convicted on two counts of perjury for having lied about the location of the broadcasts. Arutz Sheva stopped its radio broadcasts at 5.00pm the same day.
5th November 2003	The now silent Arutz Sheva announced that it had sold its ship, Eretz Hatzvi to a Turkish buyer for scrap.
29th December 2003	Those convicted of involvement with the operation of Arutz Sheva received their sentences - four former managers were given jail sentences ranging from three to six months as well as heavy fines. Other defendants received suspended jail sentences and/or fines for their involvement in the station’s broadcasts. Yaakov Katz, one of the station's top managers, was also convicted of perjury after being found guilty of submitting two false affidavits about the location of Arutz Sheva’s broadcasts.

2003

2004

4th February 2004	A Bill to allow the Communications Ministry to award broadcast licences to radio stations which appealed primarily to specific sectors of society or those that have a unique characteristic, such as an alternative language or culture, received its first reading in the Knesset.
10th February 2004	Four Arutz Sheva directors and broadcasters filed an appeal against their convictions of operating an unlicensed radio station. The State Prosecution also appealed the "lenient" sentences handed down against the four main defendants and asked for higher fines against the ship's operating companies.
18th May 2004	Both the prosecution and the defendants withdrew their appeals at the Jerusalem District Court. The Court subsequently imposed final sentences on the defendants who had been convicted in October 2003 reducing prison sentences to 3-6 months of community service for the four main defendants, while each of the ten defendants were also required to pay fines. In addition the companies behind the operation of Arutz Sheva were given reduced fines.

March 2002	The Israeli Supreme Court, ruled the law proposing to legalise Arutz Sheva null and void.
25th December 2002	Tel-Aviv police and Communications Ministry officials raided the Arutz Sheva ship Hatzvi while anchored in Israeli national waters off the coast of Tel-Aviv. Broadcasts were stopped for about an hour, but no equipment was confiscated, and no one was arrested.

2002

9th March 2002

The space shuttle Columbia's astronauts released the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit after five days of repairs.

20th October 2003 Israeli helicopters and warplanes unleashed a string of missile strikes in Gaza City. At least 11 people were killed and over 90 wounded.

6th November 2003 US President Bush signed the $87.5 billion spending bill for Afghanistan and Iraq.

29th December 2003

The US said it will require international air carriers in certain cases to place armed law enforcement officers on cargo and passenger flights to, from and over the United States.

5th February 2004 U.S. and Iraqi forces captured more than 100 suspected guerrillas in raids across the country, including one of Saddam Hussein's intelligence chiefs.

18th May 2004

A powerful typhoon slammed into the Philippines, causing at least 19 deaths on eastern islands in the archipelago.