Foreign Ministry Denies Paying Reporters for Pro-Israeli Stories

Two journalists alleged Monday that some radio reporters working free lance for foreign stations accepted money or favors from the Foreign Ministry to do pro-Israel stories packaged as independent news items.

The two, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the free-lancers worked out of a Jerusalem recording studio that has close ties with the ministry.

The ministry denied the allegations Monday but said it suspended all ties with the studio lest “some aspects of the current arrangements . . . be misconstrued as involving a conflict of interest.”

The New York Times reported Monday that ministry officials secretly channeled money to the studio to pay the reporters’ salaries. It also said that Israeli diplomats abroad helped the free-lance reporters recruit radio clients.

One Jerusalem-based radio reporter told the Associated Press that the ministry paid the studio fee of $75 per hour for some free-lance reporters who otherwise would have to pay the fee.

In return, “sometimes they (ministry officials) ask the reporters to publish certain information,” the reporter said.

Another broadcast journalist said some colleagues working for foreign stations accepted money from the ministry in exchange for stories favorable to Israel packaged as independent news reports.

The ministry said it has worked with the studio for years, commissioning programs that are distributed by Israeli embassies abroad.

The ministry claimed that it decided to suspend ties with the studio on July 18--10 days before it was first asked by the New York Times about the relationship.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the ministry was concerned that some journalists who worked for the studio also free-lanced for clients abroad.

But Avi Yaffe, owner of the studio, said the suspension was a result of the media inquiries.

Yaffe said that nearly half his business came from the Foreign Ministry, but he denied allegations of a covert link.

He said more than 10 free-lance reporters use his studio to produce programs for foreign radio stations, including two major U.S. networks.