Kari's Broadcast Bill Moves Forward as Israel's Media Battle Intensifies

A sweeping legislative push to weaken independent media and bolster pro-government outlets is moving through several Knesset committees at once. On Thursday morning, exhausted opposition lawmakers arrived at a special committee chaired by Galit Distel-Atbaryan after a night of votes on the Military Police investigations bill, only to hear Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi rapidly read through the new broadcasting bill while ignoring Knesset legal advice that he must debate each clause separately.

Petitions have already been filed with the High Court of Justice by the Success organization and MK Shelly Miron of Yesh Atid, challenging what they describe as the destruction of basic legislative procedure. The bill is being revised late at night, with clauses appearing and disappearing. One overnight addition would have expanded authority for the prime minister, after consulting security officials, to order media outlets to broadcast messages, potentially across any registered content provider, not just licensed cable and satellite operators such as HOT and yes. That clause appears to have been dropped just as quickly.

The bill’s central aim, the article says, is to reshape the media market in favor of Channel 14 and i24 while weakening critical outlets such as Channels 12 and 13. One explanatory note explicitly says a clause removes the ban on i24 broadcasting over cable and satellite infrastructure. It would also loosen cross-ownership restrictions. Under the draft, Patrick Drahi, owner of HOT, could broadcast news on cable and satellite instead of only online.

The proposed framework would also spare Channel 14 from regulations that apply to older competitors, even though it has already benefited from being treated as a newcomer. The bill creates a new broadcasting authority, with the minister appointing seven of nine council members. The government wants to finish the law in the current Knesset session, and the article says the High Court will likely have to rule on fresh petitions over a process that has been stripped of normal standards. The same broader campaign also includes efforts involving the Finance Committee, the Economy Committee, tax pressure on the public broadcaster, attempts to shut down Army Radio, and obstacles to a rescue deal for Reshet 13.