Israel's Attorney General Urges High Court to Freeze Communications Law

Israel's Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, has urged the High Court of Justice to issue an order freezing the implementation of Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi's controversial media law. In her response to petitions against the law, Baharav-Miara warned that it would severely harm free media, citing a "radical accumulation of substantive flaws" and a "flawed process" in its approval. She requested an interim order to "stop the severe damage to the free media market that will be caused by the Communications Law," which she referred to as "Karhi's Law."

Baharav-Miara argued that the law's provisions were poorly conceived and lacked adequate safeguards for freedom of expression and the press. She stated that the law effectively dismantles the primary framework designed to ensure journalistic independence and the reliability of news broadcasts in Israel, without establishing a suitable alternative. She described the situation as an "exceptional and extreme case" justifying a temporary injunction to maintain the status quo until a final decision.

This intervention follows a previous temporary order issued in July by Supreme Court Justice Ofer Groskopf, which delayed the enforcement of certain sections of the law. The High Court had previously expressed concern that the law's extensive changes, particularly enacted shortly before elections, could create an irreversible situation if implemented. Key provisions affected by the earlier order included allowing HOT and yes to own news channels, removing structural separation between news companies and broadcasters, and potentially exposing newsrooms to foreign political and business interests. The law also aimed to cancel Channel 14's existing obligation to invest over 50 million shekels in its news company.