Erdan tells Knesset he’ll vote against dismantling broadcaster

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan — formerly the communications minister — says he will vote against any proposal to dismantle the new public broadcaster.

At an hour-long Question Time session in the plenum, Erdan says he “has never hidden my position” and maintained “it’s important to have a public broadcaster in Israel.”

The minister, who spearheaded the government legislation to dismantle the Israel Broadcasting Authority and replace it with the new public broadcaster, says he’s waiting for the recommendations of a committee tasked with deciding whether the government should now reverse the efforts — shuttering the new broadcaster and “rehabilitating” the IBA.

If the coalition decides to close the new broadcaster, “I will vote against it,” he says.

But the minister stops short of criticizing his fellow party members — and the prime minister, who now holds the communications portfolio — who seek to shut down the new broadcaster.

— Marissa Newman