Israel’s decision to shutter Al Jazeera should be a cause for concern for all supporters of a free press.

With this decision, Israel joins a dubious club of authoritarian governments to ban the station. And the government may not be done. The prime minister has the authority to target otherforeign media that he deems to be “acting against the state.”

We urge the government to reverse this harmful step and uphold its commitment to freedom of the press – including outlets whose coverage it may not like.

This is a dark day for the media. This is a dark day for democracy.

The Board of the Foreign Press Association