Channel 14 Wins Supreme Court Case, Donates Funds to Legal Battle

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a petition by left-wing organizations, led by former Meretz chairwoman Zehavit Galon, seeking to prevent Channel 14 from hosting election candidates. Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Justice Noam Sohlberg, dismissed the petition, ruling that Channel 14 had invited candidates from all political camps. The court ordered the petitioners to pay 10,000 shekels in legal costs.

Channel 14 announced that the awarded sum would be donated to the legal defense of the 'Kach 100' fighters. The petition, filed by the 'Zulat for Human Rights' organization and the 'Movement for Fair Regulation,' alleged that Channel 14 violated election propaganda laws by primarily hosting right-wing candidates. The petitioners sought an injunction to prohibit the channel from hosting Knesset candidates until election day, citing inequality.

Channel 14 argued that the petition was flawed and presented evidence of systematically inviting all parties and candidates, including from the opposition. The channel stated that opposition representatives consistently refused interviews due to an "institutionalized media boycott." They further contended that prohibiting interviews was anti-democratic and a severe blow to freedom of expression.

Justice Sohlberg accepted Channel 14's position, describing the request to ban broadcasts as an "extreme step" that severely harms freedom of expression. He noted that the channel had proven its invitations to all political factions and that the opposition's boycott did not constitute a violation by the channel. Sohlberg emphasized that granting the petition would absurdly give candidates a "veto right" over broadcasts. The judge also cited the significant delay in filing the petition, just two weeks before the elections, in his decision to dismiss it entirely. This ruling is seen as a significant victory for Channel 14 and for freedom of expression in Israeli media.