High Court Lets Outgoing Second Authority Council Meet Without Resigned Members

Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled on Wednesday that the outgoing council of the Second Authority for Television and Radio may meet and make decisions even without the members who resigned. The ruling came after petitions by the Journalists’ Association, which argued the mass resignations were a coordinated move intended to paralyze the regulator. The court said the outgoing council can continue handling major issues, including the proposed Reshet 13 deal and a review of Channel 14’s revenues.

The justices sharply criticized Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and the resigning council members. In their decision, they wrote that reviewing the affidavits creates “a strong suspicion” that the resignations were aimed only at blocking earlier rulings in the case. They also said the sequence of events suggested possible involvement by Karhi or people acting on his behalf in the dismissal decisions.

The court noted that most members resigned only from the “outgoing” council, while insisting on serving on the new council appointed by the government. In what it called “unique and exceptional circumstances,” the court said it would not allow an intentional obstruction or shutdown of the council’s work, and therefore the resigning members will not be counted for quorum purposes at this stage. It also said the resignations do not appear consistent with the duty of loyalty imposed on the members.

The ruling means the outgoing council can keep operating during the interim injunction period until final judgment is issued in the petitions. The background to the case is five petitions against the new council appointed by the government led by Yifat Ben-Hai Shgb. Earlier, the court issued an interim order barring the new council from meeting or taking decisions until further notice.