Knesset passes broadcasting reform

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Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi’s reform of the media market passed second and third readings in the Knesset this evening. The bill was passed by a majority of 53 to 48.

In the aftermath of the vote, a series of petitions were immediately filed in the High Court of Justice by Knesset members Efrat Rayten and Eitan Ginzburg, the Zulat and Hatzlaha organizations, the Israel Journalists Association, and the Movement for Quality of Government in Israel.

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Under the law, a new broadcast media authority will be formed, relacing the current system of regulation. The Second Authority for Television and Radio will consequently be disbanded. The minister of communications will appoint six of the nine members of the council of the new authority, at the recommendation of a search committee.

The law removes the restrictions on cross ownership and abolishes the structural separation between commercial channels and news companies. It provides for investment in original Israeli productions, but foreign companies will be exempt from this obligation.

Many objections have been raised to the legislative process by which the law was passed. A special Knesset committee was formed to deal with it, to bypass opposition, and it underwent many changes. The attorney general said that there many substantial flaws in the law, and that it endangered the image of a free press in Israel, and would lead to inability of the media to fulfill their vital role in a democratic society.

The petition filed by Rayten and Ginzburg claims that the discussions in the special Knesset committee were purely for the sake of appearances. It also claims that important and sensitive sections of the law awarding huge benefits to channels favored by the government were introduced "by the back door" directly into the voting stage after the Knesset plenum had already decided to strip them out, and without any discussion of them in committee.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 16, 2026.