Karhi seeks to punish Bitan for thwarting his efforts to shut down Kan

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi calls on coalition whip Ofir Katz to “exercise coalition discipline” against Likud MK David Bitan for stymying the government’s effort to shut down the Kan public broadcaster.

Bitan, as chairman of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, has blocked legislation that would shutter the broadcaster, stating that he “can’t advance this bill for a simple reason — public broadcasting is necessary.”

The proposed legislation, part of a larger media overhaul package advocated by Karhi, stipulates that if a private buyer for Kan cannot be found within two years, the broadcaster will be shuttered completely and its intellectual property will revert to the government. The bill passed its preliminary reading in the Knesset plenum last November before becoming stuck in committee.

In response to Bitan’s opposition, Karhi has proposed establishing a new “media committee” to bypass Bitan’s opposition, an idea rejected by Bitan but reportedly supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The time has come to establish a communications committee or to oust Bitan,” Karhi tweets, arguing that it should not be possible “for one person” to block the coalition from advancing its media overhaul agenda.