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Sunday, May 17, 2026
Coalition pushes to fast-track media overhaul through committee, bypassing legal opposition
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
The Knesset special committee debating Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s sweeping media overhaul bill descends into chaos as opposition lawmakers and the committee’s legal advisers accuse coalition lawmakers of bypassing legal oversight and parliamentary procedure in a push to bulldoze the legislation toward final votes ahead of possible early elections.
Opposition lawmakers say they received a new 178-page draft of the legislation only hours before the start of Shabbat on Friday, leaving little time to review extensive last-minute changes before discussions resumed this morning — the first of a three-day legislative blitz aimed at advancing the controversial bill to final votes in the Knesset ahead of the body’s possible dissolution.
“You tried to drop an entirely new draft on us that we had never seen before, without any legal oversight whatsoever,” says Yesh Atid MK Shelly Tal Meron to committee chair Likud MK Galit Distel-Atbaryan, alleging that entirely new provisions were added to, among other things, benefit pro-government news outlet Channel 14.
Committee legal adviser Pinchas Grot warns that the coalition is introducing major new clauses and revisions to the legislation at the last minute while deliberately accelerating the bill ahead of possible elections, despite repeated objections from the committee’s legal advisory team.
“The pace, which does not allow for proper study, is an inherent problem,” Grot says, adding ominously, “once the law passes, I don’t know what the next Knesset will look like.”
Justice Ministry representative Adi Liberos warns that the Communications Ministry has ignored their concerns for months and accuses ministry staffers of drafting legislative provisions despite “lacking the authority or professional qualifications” to perform legal advisory functions, calling the situation “an unprecedented systemic failure.”
The legislation, which would give the government significant control over broadcast media, news sites, and other media by establishing a new regulatory council, with a majority of members chosen by the communications minister, has drawn sharp opposition from both the committee’s professional legal staff and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who have warned that the current draft undermines press freedom and allows for political interference in media.
The Times of Israel Community.