In its recently released ranking of press freedom in various countries, Freedom House downgraded the Jewish state from “free” to “partly free.” Why? Because Israel has a successful right-wing daily, Israel Hayom, and efforts last year in the Knesset to ban it failed. Jonathan Tobin writes:

Israel, which has far more active newspapers per capita than most democracies, remains a country where critics of the government and of the country have no trouble being heard on radio and television or finding space in general-circulation publications. Indeed, it is often far more difficult to find those who back Israel’s government or its current prime minister than it is to encounter their opponents in the media. In that respect, the Israeli press tilts even farther to the left than that in the United States.

What possible reason then can there be for downgrading Israel’s ranking? The answer is simple. The group considers “the growing impact of Israel Hayom” to be a problem. According to Freedom House, that newspaper’s “owner-subsidized business model endangered the stability of other media outlets.” . . . In a country that has overwhelming rejected the politics of the left in three consecutive elections, [there are] few media outlets not at odds with the views of the majority of voters. Israel Hayom filled that void and, not unsurprisingly, has been rewarded with a greater readership than those publications that tilt to the left. . . .

One needn’t be a fan of Netanyahu or [Israel Hayom’s owner, Sheldon] Adelson, to understand the insidious nature of [Freedom House’s] argument. To support efforts to suppress a publication that has provided much-needed diversity to the Israeli press is a betrayal of Freedom House’s mandate. To attack Israel . . . in this manner demonstrates that, as with so many other groups that pose as defenders of liberty, freedom in the Jewish state or the right of its people to defend themselves is not something [Freedom House] cares much about.

The editors of the Wall Street Journal rightly call the Biden administration’s new policy an arms embargo. (Subscription required.)

The administration would like to focus on the denial of 2,000-pound bombs, which it says are too destructive. Never mind that a professional force can employ them in a manner that restricts the radius of damage. Mr. Biden is also halting a shipment of 500-pound bombs and holding up Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), which convert unguided bombs into precision “smart” bombs. Politico reports that small-diameter bombs are being withheld. The Journal adds that the Biden administration has been sitting on a deal that includes tank shells and mortar rounds.

The message from the White House, in other words, is that Israel shouldn’t have large bombs or small bombs, dumb bombs or smart bombs, and let it do without tanks and artillery too. Now isn’t a good time to send the weapons, you see, because Israel would use them.

But it’s even worse than that: withholding the JDAMs in effect encourages Israel to use dumb bombs in instances when precision weapons would be more effective, and less likely to cause harm to bystanders. And then there is the twisted logic behind the decision:

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other U.S. officials explain that the goal of the embargo—which they present as a “pause” or “review”—is to prevent a wider Israeli attack on the Hamas stronghold of Rafah. This is the terrorists’ reward for using civilians as human shields.

It hasn’t been four weeks since Iran attacked Israel directly, in the largest drone attack in history, plus 150 or so ballistic and cruise missiles. . . . Israel needs to be ready now, and its enemies need to know the U.S. stands behind it.