LONDON: Israeli journalists slammed the government’s latest proposal for the country’s communications sector on Monday, calling it an effort “to eliminate the press” and a “severe damage to public broadcasting,” in a public statement by the Jerusalem Journalists Association.
The outcry comes in response to Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s proposed bill that includes the shuttering of the Cable and Satellite Council and Israel’s media watchdog, the Second Authority of Television and Radio, while easing the requirements for acquiring a news broadcasting license.
In a statement, the Israel Press and Communications Council protested Karhi’s “plan to destroy media organizations in Israel, to eliminate journalistic independence and freedom of expression, and the public’s right to know.”
The bill could “turn Israel into a fake news powerhouse” because “when every source produces news, there will no longer be a commitment to journalistic ethics and binding professional standards,” the statement added.
Karhi’s proposal calls for a single, nine-member regulatory body consisting of three bureaucrats, two public representatives chosen directly by the minister, and three members picked by a committee composed of representatives from the communications, education, and justice ministry.
Currently, broadcasters in the country are required to have two licenses with separate approvals, which “requires networks to establish separate corporate entities for news content in order to prevent station owners from directly intervening in content and to allow for editorial independence,” said Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, head of the Democracy Institute’s Media Reform Program in Israel, according to a report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Since the Second Authority serves as a public watchdog, its abolition would “open up the news to corporate pressure,” she added.
Moreover, under the new bill, the state broadcaster Kan would be barred from running commercials or charging for programs, both of which brought in more than 100 million shekels ($27.5 million) last year.
The proposal also includes reforms that benefit the right-wing network Channel 14, pushing back its commercial competitors Channels 12 and 13.
In a tweet, the opposition leader Yair Lapid, a former prime minister and TV personality, said: “This is a bribe offer to the owner of Channel 14. It is a complete crushing of the freedom of the press and an attempt to eliminate the television channels that do not bow to the government. Only in totalitarian states does the government control the mass media as Karhi suggests.”
However, Karhi believes that his reforms will minimize government interference in news content.
The minister said in a video that accusations that he is seeking to control the media are the “complete opposite of what the reform is going to do.”
He added: “Real freedom of the press is what scares you the most.”
Current external regulators “replace the public in determining priorities,” and their elimination will create a more diverse media landscape, Karhi claimed.
The move will allow the public to create new channels and “voice their opinions in the media,” as well as increase market competition resulting in cheaper prices, he said.
Since returning to power, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies have advocated a number of steps to put pressure on the country’s independent media.
Earlier this year, Karhi suggested halting government funding for advertising to Haaretz and announced his intention to close the public broadcaster Kan.
