High Court annuls Karhi’s decision to fire key public broadcaster official

The High Court of Justice ruled unanimously on Tuesday to annul a decision by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi last year to dismiss the chair of the Kan public broadcaster’s governing council search committee.

The court said that the three reasons Karhi gave for his decision to fire retired judge Nechama Mounitz as head of the search committee were either invalid or lacked evidence, and therefore could not be used to justify her dismissal.

The ruling is significant since the Kan governing council has been rendered inoperative because it currently only has five members out of 12, and needs a quorum of seven to function properly and carry out key duties, such as approving the broadcaster’s annual budget.

Karhi’s dismissal of Mounitz has meant that new members for the council could not be appointed, something which has caused “substantial damage” to the public broadcaster, the High Court said in its ruling.

The court ruling stated specifically that Karhi should now act with the relevant officials to bring about the appointment of the governing council’s full complement of members, including a chairman, “as soon as possible and with the appropriate speed.”

Karhi, a far-right member of the Likud party who has repeatedly called on the government to disobey the High Court, described the ruling as “unlawful” and said he would not obey it.

The decision comes against the background of Karhi’s persistent efforts over the entire course of the government’s tenure to either reduce the independence of the public broadcaster, privatize it, or shut down it down completely.

The ruling was issued by Justices Ofer Grosskopf, Gila Canfy Steinitz and Chaled Kabub.

The appointment of members to the council is grounded in the law for public broadcasting, which establishes the search committee and was designed to ensure that the members would be independent and guarantee that they acted out of professional motives.

Karhi himself appointed Mounitz in March 2025, but fired her in September, alleging that she had inappropriately adopted the position of the Attorney General’s Office in the search committee’s operations.

The High Court ruled on Tuesday that the input of the Attorney General’s Office was actually necessary, not invalid, and that other actions in the search process for governing council members, which Karhi took issue with, had been approved by the Attorney General’s Office.

The court ruled, therefore, that Karhi could not fire Mounitz on the grounds that she was not doing her job properly because she followed legal advice over a legal issue.

“It is regrettable that these days, getting legal advice regarding the requirements of the law is seen by the minister as grounds for dismissal,” Canfy-Steinitz wrote of Karhi.

“The decision to remove committee chairman Mounitz from her position cannot stand, as it was made without any reason whatsoever, and therefore in violation of the authority vested in the minister,” the court concluded in its ruling.

The justices added that there is now no reason that candidates for the governing council who have already been submitted should not be advanced.

Karhi announced immediately in response to the ruling that he would not respect it.

“The High Court is welcome to appoint whomever it wants by itself. No candidate of a dismissed judge, backed by a dismissed attorney general, will be appointed by me,” said Karhi.

“The people are sovereign, and the people will soon have their say about this group of dictators in robes, God willing, at the ballot box.”