Discussion on the broadcasting bill, which was supposed to continue on Thursday, was canceled early that morning just before the Knesset’s Communications Committee was due to meet. The immediate reason was that the coalition lacked the votes needed to postpone thousands of objections filed to the bill by opposition lawmakers.
The coalition has been unable to secure a majority in committee because of a voting boycott by the ultra-Orthodox parties, which have been withholding support in plenary and committee votes for government and coalition positions. United Torah Judaism and Shas have been boycotting votes for the past year in protest over the failure to pass the conscription exemption bill, and they are also demanding an early election.
United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yitzhak Goldknopf said the bill would not pass because of ultra-Orthodox objections to the proposed system’s operation on Shabbat and the lack of censorship on pornographic content. MK Avi Maoz of Noam also announced his opposition.
The legislation would create a new broadcasting authority with broad powers to shut down channels. Although that clause was split off from the bill, the current draft still includes major changes, such as ending cross-ownership restrictions, removing the structural separation requirement between Keshet and Reshet news companies and their controlling owners, and providing financial benefits worth tens of millions of shekels to the government-friendly channels 14 and i24. To soften ultra-Orthodox opposition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to advance several religious bills before the Knesset dissolves, including the conscription exemption bill, the daycare subsidy bill, a Basic Law on Torah study, and a bill canceling the kashrut reform introduced by former minister Matan Kahana. Coalition members want to finish passing the broadcasting bill within 3 to 4 weeks, before the Knesset dissolves for elections.
