Israel's Supreme Court Overturns Government Appointments to Second Authority

Israel's High Court of Justice unanimously annulled the government's appointments to the Second Authority for Television and Radio Council on Tuesday. The court, led by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, ruled to cancel the appointments of Ifat Ben-Haimovich as chairwoman and Kineret Barashi and Haim Shine as council members.

The judges determined that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu violated conflict of interest rules by promoting the appointment of Ben-Haimovich, who had testified in his criminal trial, to a senior public position. The court also criticized the hasty appointment process. The outgoing council will continue to serve temporarily until a new one is formed.

The decision followed five separate petitions filed by various media organizations and watchdog groups, including Channel 12, the Journalists' Association, and the Movement for Quality of Government. Petitioners argued the appointments were rushed, lacked proper legal and factual basis, and were intended to thwart the acquisition of Channel 13. Concerns were also raised about the candidates' suitability due to past public statements against the media outlets they were meant to regulate.

President Amit specifically addressed the conflict of interest stemming from Ben-Haimovich's ongoing defamation lawsuit against Channel 12 and its journalists while she was slated to regulate them. He noted that her past statements describing Channel 12 as the leading media body setting the agenda and accusing it of harming her reputation created significant difficulties for her role as a regulator.

The court also invalidated the appointments of Barashi and Shine, citing a lack of substantial factual basis for their nominations. Barashi's past harsh public statements against media outlets, including comparing Channel 13 to ISIS and labeling news channels as "political parties," were highlighted as impacting her objectivity. Shine's political affiliations were also questioned.

Additionally, President Amit sharply criticized Communications Minister Shlomo Karai and his associates for allegedly pressuring the outgoing council members to resign to undermine a temporary court order. He characterized this behavior as part of a disturbing trend of "administrative paralysis as policy."