Kan CEO says coalition attacks echo BDS as Knesset debates control of state broadcaster’s budget

By Ariela Karmel

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12 May 2026, 5:18 pm

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Ariela 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.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi attends a Knesset Finance Committee meeting, in Jerusalem, May 12, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The first Knesset Finance Committee debate on a bill that would put the Kan public broadcaster’s budget under direct government control erupts into a shouting match after Kan CEO Golan Yochpaz accuses coalition MK’s of echoing efforts by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the broadcaster.

“We are dealing on one hand with your attacks, and on the other with criticism from the BDS movement and antisemitic actors trying to suffocate Israeli culture. In effect, you are doing the same thing,” Yochpaz tells lawmakers during a stormy Knesset Finance Committee hearing.

His comments draw jeers from coalition lawmakers, including committee chairman and Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky, who, without evidence, accuses Kan itself of producing content used by BDS activists.

Anti-Israel activists have been calling for years to bar Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest, currently taking place in Vienna, which may be realized if this legislation passes, as it could render Israel ineligible to participate in the competition, which requires participating countries to maintain an independent public broadcaster.

The legislation would allow the government to determine Kan’s budget annually through the state budget, ending legislative protections designed to shield the broadcaster from political interference.

Part of a broader two-year campaign led by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to dismantle Kan, the bill was transferred in March from the Economics Committee, chaired by Likud MK David Bitan, who opposes the measure, to Netanyahu loyalist Milwidsky’s Finance Committee, where it is expected to advance.

Opposition lawmakers and legal experts warn the proposal would harm press freedom ahead of upcoming elections and argue it should not advance until after the vote, with Yesh Atid MK Karine Elharrar calling the bill “populism aimed at eliminating the corporation’s independence” and Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak explicitly says to coalition lawmakers that “through the attack on the media you want to harm the integrity of the elections.”

Amy Spiro contributed to this report.