The Israeli government on July 5 voted not to recognize media regulator decisions, criticizing a Supreme Court ruling and prompting reproach from the opposition.
Under Israeli law, the Second Authority for Television and Radio must have a minimum number of members on its council to make decisions.
The Israeli government argued that because the regulator no longer meets that requirement, it lacks the authority to issue rulings or take other action. On June 17, the Supreme Court ordered the regulator to continue its activities.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said in a July 5 post on X that the government had voted unanimously to not recognize any decision, approval, appointment, or action carried out by the Second Authority council, as long as it does not meet the explicit threshold conditions set by law.
“The High Court justices are not the Knesset, and intoxication with power does not grant the authority to erase an explicit threshold condition from the law, even if it is inconvenient for them,” Karhi said.
“Today the government made it clear: when the High Court tramples the law, the state will not lend a hand to it. Two-thirds is a legal requirement, not a recommendation, and a council that does not meet the threshold conditions set by the legislature does not exist, and its decisions are worth nothing.”
The government’s decision could affect the possible approval of the sale of Channel 13—one of Israel’s major commercial television networks—to a group of high-tech entrepreneurs. Channel 13 is a critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
It may also affect whether pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 should remain classified as a small channel, a designation that grants the channel regulatory benefits and exemptions.
Criticism
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin said the Knesset enacts the law and the court is obligated to implement it.
“When a ruling stands in direct contradiction to the wording of the law, this is not judicial review but a violation of the principle of separation of powers,” Levin said. “The government has a duty to insist that the law, and only the law, be the source of governmental authority. We will continue to act through all lawful means to restore the rule of law.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the vote, saying in a post on X that the Knesset legislates the law, and the court is obligated to apply it.
“As far as we are concerned, the tenure of the members of the Second Authority remains valid, and their decisions are binding,” he said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that declarations of noncompliance with Supreme Court rulings strike at the “heart of unity among the people.”
“I have already made clear, and I will repeat it again and again: noncompliance with a court ruling is a red line that must not be crossed under any circumstances,” Herzog said in a July 5 post on X.
Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs said that the vote did not constitute a declaration of intention to defy the court.
“Contrary to reports, there is not a word in the statement calling for noncompliance with the High Court’s ruling, but rather sharp criticism of a ruling that contradicts the explicit wording of the law,” Fuchs said in a post on X.
“The government declared that it will act through all legal tools available to it in order to overturn the decision in the future.”
