Israel's Legal Advisor Seeks to Halt New Broadcasting Law

The Israeli government's legal advisor, Gali Baharav-Miara, has requested the Supreme Court issue a temporary injunction to halt the implementation of a new communications and broadcasting law championed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karai. Baharav-Miara argued that the law, passed by the Knesset on July 16 with a 53-48 vote, poses a significant threat to the free media market due to "serious procedural flaws" and "an extraordinary accumulation of substantive defects."

The legislation establishes a new Broadcasting Communications Authority, intended to replace the Second Authority for Television and Radio and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council. It also permits the creation of new news channels with minimal regulation, removes the requirement for structural separation between broadcasters and their news entities, and shifts broadcasters from a licensing system to a registration system. Furthermore, the law eases restrictions on cross-ownership of media outlets.

Several groups, including opposition lawmakers, the Movement for Quality of Government, the Zulat Institute, the Atid Ehad association, and the Journalists' Association, have filed petitions against the law. They contend that its passage involved serious procedural irregularities, that it increases political influence over regulatory bodies, and that it endangers the independence of newsrooms and press freedom.