Israel's High Court Orders Minister to Approve Public Broadcasting Appointments

Israel's Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, has ordered Communications Minister Shlomo Karai to approve the appointments of four members to the Public Broadcasting Corporation's council within seven days. The ruling, led by President Yitzhak Amit and Justices Ofer Groskopf and Gila Kenfy-Stein, also stated that if the minister fails to sign the appointment letters by the deadline, the appointments will automatically take effect.

The case involved the appointment of Aliza Dayan Hamama and the reappointment of three current members: Professor Menahem Ben Sasson, Michal Rafaeli Kaduri, and Amir Sabhat. This decision follows a partial ruling from May, which found Karai's previous decision to dismiss the head of the selection committee, retired Judge Nechama Monitz, to be unlawful. Karai had rejected the four candidates approved by the committee in June, citing broad and personal reasons, which the court dismissed as "straw arguments."

Justice Ofer Groskopf, writing for the court, emphasized that the minister's discretion in appointing council members is extremely limited, intended to safeguard the independence of public broadcasting and prevent political influence. The court specifically rejected the minister's personal justifications, stating that participation in protests against the judicial overhaul, for example, is not grounds for disqualification.

The court also addressed the paralysis within the corporation's council, which has been operating below the legal quorum of seven members for two years, preventing it from making statutory decisions, including electing a new CEO. The current CEO, Golan Yochpaz, is set to end his term in November. The judges stressed that a functioning public broadcaster requires a CEO, and therefore, extended Yochpaz's term for an interim period of up to 60 days after the council meets the legal requirements to elect a successor.

The Ministry of Communications was ordered to pay 150,000 shekels in legal costs, including 50,000 shekels for this ruling and 100,000 shekels from the previous partial ruling, due to the minister's conduct. Elad Man, legal counsel for the "Tzlalach" association that filed the petition, stated that the ruling clarifies that deliberate delays or stagnation cannot be legitimate administrative tools and that "administrative paralysis as policy" harms the public. He also expressed regret that the costs were levied against the public purse via the ministry, rather than directly against the minister.