Criticizing own party, Likud MK blocks bill to shutter public broadcaster

‘Public broadcasting is needed in Israel,’ David Bitan declares, criticizing ‘those in Likud who are causing damage to the party for the sake of politics’

Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Likud MK David Bitan chairs a meeting of the Knesset Economic Committee, January 15, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Likud MK David Bitan chairs a meeting of the Knesset Economic Committee, January 15, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A controversial bill aimed at shutting down the Kan public broadcaster appeared to enter legislative limbo on Monday, after Knesset Economic Affairs Committee chairman David Bitan announced that he would prevent its advancement, as well as that of several other bills aimed at significantly overhauling Israel’s media ecosystem.

“I can’t advance this bill for a simple reason — public broadcasting is necessary,” Bitan announced during a meeting of the committee to discuss the legislation, prompting an outcry from Likud MK Tally Gotliv, who submitted the bill, which was originally drafted by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi.

“There has always been public broadcasting in Israel, so in terms of canceling the public broadcaster, I’m not in favor,” Bitan said. “Unfortunately, there are those in Likud who are causing damage to the party and its members for the sake of politics, and I will not allow this.”

Bitan’s opposition means that the bill is highly unlikely to come to a vote in the committee, preventing it from advancing to the Knesset plenum for the three readings necessary for it to pass into law.

As written, the legislation would require the government to issue a tender for the purchase of the television and radio networks controlled by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC), which operates Kan television and radio, among other platforms.

The proposed legislation stipulates that if a buyer cannot be found in two years, the broadcaster will be shuttered completely and its intellectual property will revert to the government.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi addresses the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, January 15, 2024. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)

A similar bill aimed at privatizing Army Radio by selling it off to a private buyer is also being promoted by the coalition.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid welcomed Bitan’s move, tweeting that “we will not allow them to dismantle democracy in Israel.”

Pushing back against her fellow Likud MK, Gotliv argued that there was no need for a public broadcaster, and while Communications Minister Karhi threatened to advance the bill through other channels.

“There are other bills regarding the privatization of the IPBC that will come to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, and if it is not this proposal then there will be another proposal,” Karhi said.

“Bills related to the media world of media and broad reforms therein have always been considered by special committees established for that purpose. This will be the case this time too,” the minister subsequently tweeted, accusing Bitan and opposition lawmakers of preventing him from expressing himself during Wednesday’s debate on the bill.

Special committees have been established to deal with specific legislative issues in the past, including the so-called Nation State Law and the bill establishing the IPBC. If he has coalition support, Karhi could feasibly push for the establishment of such a body by way of the Knesset House Committee.

During the hearing, Bitan also pledged to freeze work on legislation that would grant the government oversight over television ratings data and force broadcasters to regularly report such data, which Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has argued would violate key constitutional principles, including the right to privacy and freedom of the press.

However, Bitan indicated that he would not hinder two additional bills — one that would compel Kan to justify its decisions to the committee on an annual basis, and another that would give the government direct instead of indirect control over the broadcaster’s budget. These, he said, would be considered by the committee.

Under Likud MK Avichai Boaron’s proposed legislation, the IPBC’s funding would come directly from the state budget, with the approval of the government, which would be granted the power to “change or cancel an item in the corporation’s budget.”

MK David Bitan chairs a meeting of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, January 15, 2024. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)

Addressing the committee, Boaron denied having any intention of interfering with the IPBC’s programming, a claim derided by opposition lawmakers at the meeting — who also demanded to know if Karhi intended to obey a recent High Court of Justice order to extend the terms of two members of the Kan public broadcaster’s governing council.

Organizations representing the media, including the Foreign Press Association and the Union of Journalists in Israel, have been harshly critical of Karhi’s proposed media reforms, which the minister argues are necessary to liberalize the market and increase competition.

“We feel that the free media is under a very sharp attack,” Channel 12 news anchor Oded Ben-Ami told lawmakers during an emergency conference on freedom of expression last month.

Israel has fallen 15 spots in Reporters Without Borders’ annual press freedom index since the government took power in 2022. While launching heated attacks on many Israeli media outlets, the coalition has poured money into the pro-government Channel 14, nearly quadrupling its advertising spending there over the past two years, according to news website The 7th Eye, which covers the local media sector.

Following Wednesday’s debate, 7th Eye reporter Shabi Gatenio attempted to ask Karhi a question, leading Elad Zamir, Karhi’s chief of staff, to call him an “idiot” and repeatedly grab at his phone.

Criticizing Zamir for using “physical violence,” Yesh Atid MK Shelly Tal Meron promised to file a complaint with the Knesset Ethics Committee.

During December’s conference on freedom of expression, Zamir erupted in anger when journalists and opposition lawmakers interrupted Karhi, and was removed from the chamber after shouting that Lapid was trying to “silence our voices.”

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