From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Minister says High Court can’t force him to halt conduct seen as trying to influence public broadcaster
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi asserts that the High Court of Justice does not have the authority to overturn his decisions regarding the composition of the Kan public broadcaster’s governing council.
The council is empowered to appoint senior officials to the public broadcaster, determine its work procedures, set its various policies, and lay out and approve its annual work plan.
However, the council has not been able to operate since November, when the tenures of two members ended, thus bringing membership below the quorum needed for it to function.
Karhi has come under intense criticism from opposition politicians for declaring last month that he would disobey an interim High Court order to extend the tenure so that it would have a quorum.
Karhi is responding to a letter from the Attorney General’s Office demanding he comply with the court’s order.
In his letter to Limon, Karhi states that the order was “issued without authority” and that he cannot order a constitutionally suspect ruling.
“Both the High Court and you are whining about the law. The rule of law does not mean that everyone is subject to the rulings of the High Court — it means everyone is subject to the law, whether they like it or not,” Karhi writes. “I will not break the law, not even under the auspices of the rule of law gang. The rule of officials and lawyers will not replace the people.”
Late last month, lawmakers voted 53-48 to approve a bill giving the government substantially increased influence over the Kan public broadcaster’s governing council in its preliminary reading.
