Israel's Attorney General Asks Supreme Court to Freeze Communications Law

Israel's Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, has requested an interim order from the Supreme Court to freeze the recently passed Communications Law. In her appeal, Baharav-Miara argued that the law was "passed through a flawed process and includes an extreme accumulation of substantive defects." She emphasized that the law touches upon the core of free speech and press, and the independence of the media, making the flaws in its legislative process even more significant. The Attorney General stated that these concerns are amplified during an election period, as structural changes in the media market and news broadcasting could have particularly sensitive implications for public discourse.

The Knesset approved the Communications Law approximately two months ago. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who championed the bill, acknowledged in a parliamentary speech that he advanced it at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This occurred despite Netanyahu being barred from making decisions related to Israeli media due to his ongoing trial.

The law establishes a new Broadcast Communications Authority, intended to replace the Second Authority and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, with an annual budget of NIS 25 million. The policy-setting body for this authority would be selected by the Director General of the Ministry of Communications. The legislation also permits the creation of new news channels with minimal regulatory oversight and removes the structural separation between broadcasters and their affiliated news companies.

Following the law's approval, several petitions were filed with the Supreme Court. The Movement for Quality of Government also petitioned, asserting the law was advanced against the advice of the Attorney General and the Knesset's legal advisor, through a bypass committee and by skipping thousands of reservations. The opposition parties, including the Democratic faction's MK Efrat Rayten and Blue and White's MK Eitan Ginzburg, also petitioned the Supreme Court for an order against the law.