Israel's Supreme Court Overturns Government Appointments to Second Authority

Israel's High Court of Justice unanimously annulled the government's appointments to the Second Authority for Television and Radio Council on Tuesday. The court, in a ruling penned by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, ordered the cancellation of Yifat Ben-Haimovich's appointment as chairwoman and Kineret Barashi and Haim Shine's appointments as council members.

The judges determined that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu violated conflict of interest rules by promoting the appointment of a witness in his trial to a senior public position. The court also criticized the hasty appointment process, stating that the review of candidates was insufficient. The outgoing council will continue to serve temporarily until a new one is formed.

The decision followed five separate petitions filed by various media organizations and watchdog groups, including Channel 12, the Journalists' Association, and the Movement for Quality of Government. Petitioners argued the appointments were rushed, lacked proper legal and factual basis, and were intended to thwart the acquisition of Channel 13. Concerns were also raised about the candidates' suitability due to past public statements against the media outlets they were meant to regulate, suggesting bias.

A central issue was Ben-Haimovich's prior defamation lawsuit against Channel 12 and its journalists. President Amit highlighted the inherent conflict of a regulator pursuing a libel suit against a major broadcaster under their purview, especially after she lost the case. Her past descriptions of Channel 12 as the "leading media body in the country" and accusing it of a "long, unending chain of damage to my name" were deemed critical factors in her suitability for the chairwoman role, which the appointment committee failed to adequately consider.

The court also criticized Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and his associates for allegedly pressuring outgoing council members to resign, calling it a worrying trend of "administrative paralysis as policy." While two judges agreed with the ruling, one judge, Alex Stein, partially dissented regarding the re-examination of other council members, suggesting Barashi and Shine could be reappointed under appropriate conflict of interest arrangements.

The Journalists' Association welcomed the ruling, stating that those responsible for media regulation must be professional, apolitical, and not serve the government. They vowed to continue fighting for free journalism in Israel.