{"id":939745,"date":"2026-07-16T22:11:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T22:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/939745\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T22:11:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T22:11:18","slug":"israels-knesset-passes-reform-expanding-govt-oversight-of-broadcasting-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/939745\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel’s Knesset passes reform expanding gov’t oversight of broadcasting sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

A bill proposed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi<\/a> (Likud) to enact sweeping reforms in the broadcasting sector was approved by the Knesset on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The contentious bill passed in its final second and third readings by 53-48 votes. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the plenum during the vote.<\/p>\n

The legislation is expected to grant the government substantial control over broadcasting outlets, according to its critics. It could harm freedom of the press and ultimately benefit right-wing media outlets such as Channel 14, while negatively impacting left-wing channels such as Channel 12, which coalition MKs and ministers have claimed is against the government.<\/p>\n

Karhi has said a monopoly<\/a> exists in the private media market, especially over the highest-rated news channel, Channel 12.<\/p>\n

\"PrimePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu votes on his government’s communications reform in the Knesset plenum, in Jerusalem, July 16, 2026 (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM\/THE JERUSALEM POST)Coalition sprints to pass controversial legislation package<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bill is considered one of the flagship pieces<\/a> of legislation that the coalition has been pushing to pass before its term ends.<\/p>\n

The reform\u2019s critics have expressed concerns over the process by which the legislation was advanced in an attempt to fast-track it by the end of the government\u2019s term.<\/p>\n

The legislation advanced despite not having been approved by the Attorney-General\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

At the heart of Karhi\u2019s bill is the establishment of a single, unified regulatory authority that would replace the existing Second Authority for Television and Radio and the Council for Cable and Satellite Broadcasting. The new body would regulate the supply of audiovisual content uniformly across all broadcasting platforms.<\/p>\n

The new authority would consist of a nine-member committee, with representatives selected by the communications minister. This has infuriated the bill\u2019s critics, who say the council\u2019s appointments would be political.<\/p>\n

According to the bill, the authority\u2019s annual budget would be NIS 25 million, which will be deducted from the budget of KAN, the trade name of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation News.<\/p>\n

The government has attempted in the past to cut funding for KAN and privatize it amid coalition claims that it is anti-government.<\/p>\n

The bill proposes that the law will take effect 24 months after its publication, barring certain provisions that are set to enter into force beforehand.<\/p>\n

While it is widely accepted that the broadcasting sector requires change that will better reflect the realities of today\u2019s modern media environment, the reform has raised numerous concerns among its critics.<\/p>\n

According to the Israel Democracy Institute, it eliminates all safeguards for the quality of journalistic content and grants overly broad enforcement powers to the regulator, which could harm journalistic professionalism.<\/p>\n

Additionally, a consumer benefit that was promised by Karhi, which would have particularly benefited soldiers, was also removed from the bill at the last minute.<\/p>\n

The benefit sought to create a government broadcasting application to allow free mobile viewing of major sports broadcasts.<\/p>\n

The last-minute removal of the benefit came after the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties had said they would not support the bill, citing concerns that the provision could lead to broadcasting on Shabbat.<\/p>\n

The bill is considered one of the flagship pieces of legislation that the coalition has been pushing to pass before its term ends.<\/p>\n

The reform\u2019s critics have expressed concerns over the process by which the legislation was advanced in an attempt to fast-track it by the end of the government\u2019s term.<\/p>\n

The legislation advanced despite not having been approved by the Attorney-General\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

At the heart of Karhi\u2019s bill is the establishment of a single, unified regulatory authority that would replace the existing Second Authority for Television and Radio and the Council for Cable and Satellite Broadcasting. The new body would regulate the supply of audiovisual content uniformly across all broadcasting platforms.<\/p>\n

The new authority would consist of a nine-member committee, with representatives selected by the communications minister. This has infuriated the bill\u2019s critics, who say the council\u2019s appointments would be political.<\/p>\n

According to the bill, the authority\u2019s annual budget would be NIS 25 million, which will be deducted from the budget of KAN, the trade name of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation News.<\/p>\n

The government has attempted in the past to cut funding for KAN and privatize it amid coalition claims that it is anti-government.<\/p>\n

The bill proposes that the law will take effect 24 months after its publication, barring certain provisions that are set to enter into force beforehand.<\/p>\n

While it is widely accepted that the broadcasting sector requires change that will better reflect the realities of today\u2019s modern media environment, the reform has raised numerous concerns among its critics.<\/p>\n

According to the Israel Democracy Institute, it eliminates all safeguards for the quality of journalistic content and grants overly broad enforcement powers to the regulator, which could harm journalistic professionalism.<\/p>\n

Additionally, a consumer benefit that was promised by Karhi, which would have particularly benefited soldiers, was also removed from the bill at the last minute.<\/p>\n

The benefit sought to create a government broadcasting application to allow free mobile viewing of major sports broadcasts.<\/p>\n

The last-minute removal of the benefit came after the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties had said they would not support the bill, citing concerns that the provision could lead to broadcasting on Shabbat.<\/p>\n

The bill underwent repeated revisions throughout a highly controversial legislative process. A special committee chaired by Likud MK Galit Distel Atbaryan was established to advance the reform.<\/p>\n

The committee was formed even though such legislation would typically be referred to the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, which usually handles such matters and is chaired by Likud MK David Bitan.<\/p>\n

Bitan had publicly opposed the reform, prompting critics to argue that the creation of a separate committee was intended to advance the legislation while bypassing internal opposition within the coalition.<\/p>\n

Yesh Atid MK Shelly Tal Meron has been a vocal critic of the legislation and has participated in numerous debates in the special committee.<\/p>\n

The process by which the legislation was advanced was unlawful, she told the plenum ahead of the vote.<\/p>\n

After witnessing all that went on in the meetings, Meron said she had \u201clost trust in everything that the Knesset is supposed to represent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karhi had not provided enough statistics and information that were asked for, Meron said, adding that he would join all the committee meetings, \u201cbecause he wanted to control the committee, and there were many times when he did so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PrimePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi are seen in the Knesset plenum during a vote on the minister’s communications reform, in Jerusalem, July 16, 2026 (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM\/THE JERUSALEM POST)A-G Baharav-Miara claimed communications bill was a threat to Israeli journalism<\/strong><\/p>\n

Attorney-General Baharav-Miara opposed advancing<\/a> the broader communications reform bill before it reached the plenum for a first reading.<\/p>\n

The bill posed a concrete threat to freedom of the press and its ability to fulfill its duties in a democratic society, she said in September, adding that the proposal lacks fundamental qualities.<\/p>\n

The Union of Journalists in Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice to halt the advancement of the communications reform law.<\/p>\n

Opposition lawmakers have criticized the reform, warning that it is undemocratic and could be used to silence the media during an election year.<\/p>\n

Opposition leader Yair Lapid, a former broadcast journalist, said the bill was not a reform but rather \u201ca campaign of incitement and gagging against the free press.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, Karhi said the reforms would have the opposite effect by opening the market to a wider range of voices, strengthening freedom of the press.<\/p>\n

Controversy surrounding the legislation increased after the government voted to shut down state-funded Army Radio, which was established 75 years ago. The High Court of Justice has indefinitely frozen Army Radio\u2019s closure.<\/p>\n

The passage of the reform also comes amid reports that Netanyahu has made a deal with the haredi parties to advance legislation they support.<\/p>\n

The coalition has been on a legislative blitz to advance as much legislation as possible before the Knesset goes on recess this Friday ahead of the upcoming election on October 27.<\/p>\n

Several bills have been advanced by the haredi parties and the coalition. According to critics, the bills encourage draft evasion amid a severe manpower crisis in the IDF. Supporters of the bills refute those accusations.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the vote on the reform, Lapid said: \u201cWhat has been done over the past four days, we will cancel with the stroke of a pen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything you are seeing here is an unnecessary farce, and it will be repealed within the first 100 days of the next government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Other opposition party leaders in the bloc, seeking to replace Netanyahu, also slammed the reform’s advancement after its passage, vowing to repeal it after the upcoming elections, set for October 27.<\/p>\n

The Democrats chairman Yair Golan said: \u201cThe ink on Karhi\u2019s communications law won\u2019t even have time to dry before we tear it to pieces as soon as the next government is formed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder our government, the media will be free, without government propaganda channels that routinely spread fake news,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Karhi praised the legislation\u2019s advancement, saying the reform \u201cbrings freedom to the public, removes the chains of propaganda from the consciousness of Israel\u2019s citizens, and allows them to choose whom they watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immediately after the bill\u2019s passage, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG) filed a petition to the High Court of Justice to strike it down.<\/p>\n

A law advanced against the position of the attorney-general, in a committee established contrary to the advice of the Knesset\u2019s legal adviser, and while bypassing thousands of reservations, is \u201cfundamentally flawed,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a free press, there can be no free elections, and we are confident that the court will halt this measure as well,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A bill proposed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi (Likud) to enact sweeping reforms in the broadcasting sector was…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":939746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[372,29787,378343,99,378342,26902,27269,398,50,80,97875,14026],"class_list":["post-939745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-communication","tag-communications-ministry","tag-israel","tag-israeli-media","tag-israeli-politics","tag-knesset","tag-media","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-shlomo-karhi","tag-telecommunications"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116931953317355007","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=939745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/939746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=939745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=939745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=939745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}