Israeli Communications Minister’s Radio Reform Sparks Concerns Over Favoritism and Public Broadcasting Cuts
On the eve of a key vote by the Knesset Economic Committee on Communications Minister Shlomo Karai’s radio frequency reform, professional staff within the Ministry of Communications have raised serious concerns about potential politicization and legal-professional challenges. The reform aims to restructure Israel’s radio market by replacing regional private radio licenses with nationwide commercial licenses, potentially benefiting private regional radio station owners while harming the public broadcaster Kan 11.
The reform would allow private stations winning tenders to broadcast nationally, unlike the current system limiting them to specific regions. This shift could require reallocating frequencies currently used by the public broadcaster and Galei Tzahal (Army Radio). Originally, the law prohibited removing frequencies from broadcasters if it harmed their coverage or reception quality. However, a last-minute amendment softened this to forbid removal only if there is a "material harm," a vague term critics say could facilitate transferring public frequencies to private hands.
Investigations by Calcalist revealed that several private regional radio owners who stand to gain from the reform have close political ties to Karai, including significant donations to Rabbi Meir Mazuz, Karai’s political patron. The reform also extends existing licenses until 2033, granting these owners a regulatory and economic advantage without opening competition to new players. Ministry professionals argue this extension is economically unjustified and undermines equality.
Additional criticism targets the minister’s proposed authority to decide tender criteria, potentially allowing subjective decisions favoring certain bidders and raising fears of regulatory politicization. The ministry recommends objective, price-based tender criteria and warns that strict experience requirements could block new competitors, harming market diversity.
While not opposing reform in principle, ministry professionals warn that the current approach lacks sufficient professional groundwork and risks entrenching favoritism and weakening public broadcasting. Critics accuse Karai of seeking to close down public radio stations to free frequencies and advertising budgets for politically connected private stations, thus reshaping Israel’s radio landscape to their benefit.
