A controversial bill by Likud MK Galit Distel Atbaryan to privatize the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation passed a vote in the Ministerial Legislative Committee and will head to the Knesset for preliminary voting.
According to the bill, the corporation, known as KAN, would no longer be allowed to broadcast “news and current events” on television or radio. KAN’s Channel 11 would be sold to a private bidder based on criteria to negate personal interests.
According to the bill’s preamble, “The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation began broadcasting in 2017, replacing the former Israel Broadcasting Authority, as part of a significant reform in public broadcasting in Israel.
The broadcasting corporation operates television channels, radio stations, and an extensive digital platform.
There is no doubt that this represents a substantial improvement over the previous broadcasts of the Israel Broadcasting Authority.
“The broadcasting corporation’s budget is composed of two sources: a government-funded budget that is fixed by law and indexed to inflation, and a budget based on the collection of vehicle radio licensing fees. This budget amounts to approximately NIS 800 million – a particularly large sum, which even proponents of public broadcasting find astounding in its scope.
“In an era of multi-channel television, which offers diverse and targeted content for every segment of the population, and in an era of highly accessible Internet, the claim that public broadcasting in the field of news and current affairs is necessary to address the multicultural nature of Israeli society is no longer relevant. Moreover, despite having a particularly large budget, the broadcasting corporation does not offer uniquely diverse content, as evidenced by particularly low viewership ratings.
Initiators of bill believe 'no reason' for Israeli citizens to continue funding
“The initiators of the bill believe there is no reason for Israeli citizens to continue funding this unnecessary Hebrew-language news and current affairs broadcasting – whether directly through the license fee or indirectly through a generous government budget.”
In a recording of Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi from the ministerial committee meeting on Sunday, the minister is heard criticizing the Attorney-General’s Office for blocking his comprehensive media reform plan in May.
The Attorney General’s Office explained that it could not approve the bill’s advancement since it included significant regulatory changes that required the approval of a special committee, which had not been given.
The office added that the bill did not include sufficient guarantees to ensure that media outlets remain independent of political influences and maintain their ability to criticize the government.
Karhi opted, therefore, to resume a previous tactic of passing his media reform plan piecemeal via private MK’s bill proposals.
Private bill proposals do not need to undergo legal review by the A-G’s Office.
Ministers cannot propose private bills, and therefore Karhi was barred from proposing them himself.
'An attempt to silence one of the most important free media bodies in Israel'
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel said in response, “This is an attempt to silence one of the most important free media bodies in Israel and eliminate the last remaining voice in the Israeli media that is independent of political and economic considerations.
This is another and particularly problematic stage in the regime coup – after they ousted the head of the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency], changed the composition of the judicial appointments committee, and promoted Communications Minister Karhi’s broadcasting law, now they are trying to completely eliminate the public media. We must stop this law whose sole purpose is to eliminate democracy in Israel and turn the media into a propaganda arm of the government.”