Israel's Supreme Court Overturns Appointments to Media Council

Israel's Supreme Court has invalidated the government's appointments of Dr. Ifat Ben-Haim Shiv, Adv. Kineret Brashi, and Dr. Haim Shine to the Second Authority for Television and Radio Council. The court also nullified the appointment of Dr. Ben-Haim Shiv as the council's chairperson. The decision followed five petitions filed by various organizations, including the Journalists' Association and Channel 12, citing severe procedural flaws in the appointment process.

Petitioners argued that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acted in a conflict of interest by promoting Dr. Ben-Haim Shiv's appointment, as she is a witness in his criminal trial. They also claimed the appointments committee lacked sufficient information regarding Brashi and Shine, and that the process undermined the regulator's independence and press freedom. Concerns were raised that the government's hasty decision-making aimed to obstruct the acquisition of Channel 13 by a tech group.

Chief Justice Yitzhak Amit ruled that the government's decisions lacked sufficient factual basis for Brashi and Shine. Crucially, he determined that Netanyahu violated conflict of interest rules concerning Dr. Ben-Haim Shiv, even after her testimony concluded, to prevent the appearance of favoritism. The court ordered the cancellation of all government decisions regarding the council's appointments and mandated a review of all candidates by the appointments committee.

Justices Ruth Ronen and Alex Stein concurred with the ruling on Dr. Ben-Haim Shiv, Adv. Brashi, and Dr. Shine. Stein, however, suggested that Brashi and Shine could be reappointed after appropriate conflict of interest arrangements are made. The court did not rule on claims that the government's actions were intended to thwart the Channel 13 acquisition, but Amit stated that due to the requirement for a full 15-member council and the resignation of some members, all appointments must be re-evaluated.

In a related criticism, Amit condemned the coordinated resignations of outgoing council members, encouraged by the Communications Ministry following an interim court order, calling it an attempt to circumvent judicial orders.