Elections Committee Chair Rejects Bid to Ban Channel 14 Broadcasts

The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee has dismissed a petition seeking to prohibit Channel 14 from broadcasting current affairs and news programs featuring candidates from the Likud, Religious Zionism, and Otzma Yehudit parties in the 60 days leading up to the elections. The petition also alternatively requested that the channel be barred from conducting election propaganda for these parties.

Channel 14 was accused of acting as a de facto propaganda channel for the aforementioned lists, particularly the Likud. The petition cited Section 5 of the Elections Law (Propaganda Methods), 1959, which prohibits election propaganda on television and radio during the 60-day period before an election, excluding legally sanctioned propaganda broadcasts.

However, the committee chairman ruled that the petitioners have an alternative remedy available through the Second Authority for Television and Radio, which possesses expertise in such matters. Additionally, the chairman noted that claims regarding violations during the 60-day period were not included in the initial appeal made to the channel before the petition was filed. Consequently, the petition was dismissed without a substantive hearing.

In a separate, more focused petition, it was argued that Channel 14 exclusively features candidates from a specific political bloc, violating the principle of ideological diversity. The Chairman of the Central Elections Committee has ordered the channel to respond to this petition by Friday, with a final decision yet to be made.