Israeli Attorney General Challenges Home Front Command's Expansion of Ultra-Orthodox Radio Broadcasts for Emergency Alerts

The Israeli Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, has strongly opposed a recent initiative led by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to expand emergency alert broadcasts via ultra-Orthodox radio stations in northern Israel. In a legal response submitted to the Supreme Court, Baharav-Miara argued that Karhi’s May 2026 emergency directives authorizing broader broadcasts by stations such as Kol Chai and Kol Berama exceed his legal authority and should be annulled. These directives were issued under emergency powers in the Communications Law, allowing the state to compel communication providers to act for national security reasons.

Karhi’s move aimed to ensure that emergency warnings and instructions reach the ultra-Orthodox community, particularly those using kosher phones, by expanding broadcasts of Kol Chai, Kol Berama, and other regional stations like Al-Shams, Radio Nas, and Radio Lev HaMedina-Provia. However, Baharav-Miara rejected the justification, claiming the expansion is not a mandatory emergency measure but a voluntary framework promoted by the stations themselves, potentially granting them significant economic and regulatory advantages without competitive processes.

The Attorney General also highlighted that the public broadcaster Kan has stated it can deliver preliminary instructions through Kan Heritage, weakening the argument that expanding regional ultra-Orthodox broadcasts is a security necessity. The dispute extends to the Home Front Command, led by Major General Shay Kalper, who recently acknowledged a warning gap during weekdays after previously limiting concerns to Sabbath broadcasts. Despite Kalper’s revised stance following discussions with Karhi, Baharav-Miara finds the Home Front Command’s data insufficient to justify the expansion.

Central to the debate is a figure from the Communications Ministry citing approximately 51,000 kosher phones of generations 2 and 3. Baharav-Miara criticized the Home Front Command for adopting this data without independent field verification by population officers, emphasizing its duty to ensure data adequacy before drawing security conclusions. She also questioned how many phone users reside in the north, their access to other reception means, and their radio listening habits, describing the evidence base as a "tower of conjecture." The legal challenge was filed by advocacy groups Lobby 99 and Hatzlacha, signaling ongoing contention over emergency communication strategies for Israel’s ultra-Orthodox population.