Israel's Supreme Court Overturns Appointments to Second Authority Council

Israel's Supreme Court has nullified the appointments of Dr. Ifat Ben-חי Shegev as Chairwoman and Adv. Kinneret Brashi and Dr. Chaim Shine as members of the Second Authority Council for Television and Radio. The three appointees, identified with the Likud party and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were appointed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi. The court ordered that the appointments of all council members be returned to the Appointments Committee for review, should Karhi wish to reappoint them.

Petitioners against the appointments argued that the government's decisions were made hastily, without sufficient factual and legal basis, and potentially to thwart the sale of Channel 13. They also raised specific objections, claiming Ben-חי Shegev, Brashi, and Shine had made public statements against major media outlets supervised by the council, raising concerns of bias. Furthermore, it was argued that Ben-חי Shegev's prior testimony in Netanyahu's trial, where she allegedly changed her version to favor him, constituted a conflict of interest for Netanyahu in her appointment.

The Attorney General's office supported some of these claims, stating the Appointments Committee lacked crucial information regarding conflicts of interest and bias. The government, however, maintained the appointments were lawful and that the candidates' past statements were legitimate public criticism. They argued that Ben-חי Shegev's testimony concluded in 2022 and that Netanyahu did not participate in a subsequent government vote reconfirming her appointment.

President Yitzhak Amit, writing the main opinion, emphasized that while courts generally defer to executive discretion, they will intervene in appointments with significant procedural flaws. He stressed the need for a solid factual basis, noting that candidates' public statements are relevant to their suitability, especially if they raise concerns about impartiality. Amit concluded that Netanyahu violated conflict of interest rules regarding Ben-חי Shegev's appointment, and that the government's decision was procedurally flawed. The court's decision to return all appointments for review was also influenced by the fact that two other appointed council members had resigned, leaving the council with only ten members.