Yair Golan says party will seek communications portfolio amid government’s attacks on media

Democrats leader Yair Golan says his party will seek the communications portfolio in a future government amid the coalition’s attacks on the media, and following the potentially imminent acquisition of Channel 13 by businessman Patrick Drahi, who is widely considered to be a supporter of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The attempt to take over Channel 13 is a real alarm bell for Israeli democracy. It is a despicable attempt by a government that has lost the public’s trust and is striving to cling to power by force,” Golan says, speaking to the press ahead of a faction meeting at the Knesset.

“We, the Democrats, will take the Communications Ministry and restore the media to being free, courageous, and investigative,” the left-wing party leader continues. Golan has previously said that his party will also seek the Public Security portfolio to address the crime epidemic plaguing Arab society.

According to Walla, sources close to Netanyahu have told billionaire Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries that the offer from Drahi, who owns the HOT cable channel and i24NEWS, would be approved faster than a larger offer by a rival group led by Wiz founders Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak and Roy Reznik, whose bid was much higher and who have said they want to protect independent journalism.

Channel 13 has been fighting for survival for a number of years, with past claims that journalists were fired for voicing criticism of Netanyahu and the government. Rappaport and his company have also criticized the government, particularly over the contentious judicial overhaul.

“Netanyahu wants mouthpieces. He wants media outlets that will applaud him while he evades responsibility, praise him while he sacrifices Israel’s security, and remain silent while he protects advisers and aides who betrayed the state and received money from Qatar, the same Qatar that funded Hamas and the October 7 massacre,” Golan says, referring to the ongoing investigation into senior Netanyahu aides accused of lobbying on behlaf of Qatar during Israel’s war against Hamas while being employed by the premier’s office.

“He knows that a free and independent press poses a real threat to a corrupt government built on cover-ups. That is why he seeks to turn news channels into obedient, hollow mouthpieces that avoid criticizing him and his government,” he says.

Netanyahu has consistently amplified media outlets that echo the government’s positions, most notably Israel Hayom, a free paper published by Miriam Adelson — and her husband Sheldon Adelson prior to his death — that is widely seen as reflective of Netanyahu’s views and was reportedly founded at his request, and Channel 14, a right-wing news channel that identifies as pro-Netanyahu and that media experts have said he effectively controls.

He has long held an acrimonious relationship with Israeli media, refusing interviews with the notable exception of Channel 14, and has frequently portrayed the press as a hostile force that is persecuting him and even as an enemy of the state.