From the Liveblog of
Sunday, July 5, 2026
In first, government says it won’t heed High Court ruling, raising fears of constitutional crisis
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
The government approves a declaration in cabinet stating that it will not respect a High Court of Justice decision last month that allows the Council of the Second Authority commercial broadcasting regulatory body to continue operating despite lacking a two-thirds quorum of members.
The declaration could create a constitutional crisis if the Council of the Second Authority makes decisions that the court would consider valid but that the government rejects, a situation that could create legal anarchy.
In a resolution proposed by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the government states that it will not recognize any decisions made by the Second Authority’s council in its current status.
“Today, the government unanimously approved a proposal… declaring that it will not recognize any decision, approval, appointment, or action taken by the Council of the Second Authority as long as the council does not meet the explicit minimum requirements established by law,” the declaration states.
The government argues that the court order violates one of the provisions of the 1990 law for the Second Authority, and says that “the government has determined that the rule of law obligates all governmental authorities, including the court,” and that “a ruling that directly contradicts the clear language of the law cannot confer authority that does not exist under the law.”
In June, the High Court issued an especially sharp ruling against Karhi, freezing the government’s decision to change the composition of the Council of the Second Authority.
It also ruled that the council could continue to operate without a quorum after several members of the council resigned, saying that it suspected that the members resigned to deliberately stymie the council’s operations and a court ruling in May on the matter.
The court ruled therefore that these resignations would not count toward the necessary quorum for the council ‘s operations, meaning that the council could continue to carry out its functions.
The court stated that its ruling was justified due to what it said was the “deliberate obstruction and paralysis of the council’s operations” Karhi ostensibly orchestrated in the wake of the court’s interim order in May.
The Times of Israel Community.