Zulat has been following up on the government’s gradual takeover of the media through “salami tactics.” The actions taken to this end include legislative measures, appointments, administrative decisions, and temporary emergency provisions passed in installments in a way that would seem to obscure the overall picture. A prominent example is the “Broadcast Media Law” presented by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi in July 2023, which included structural changes aimed at increasing government control over the media. Despite opposition to the law, the government has been advancing its components in several stages and by alternative routes, such as law amendments introduced as private bills, to facilitate their approval without comprehensive legal scrutiny.

Our follow-up report elaborates on key areas of activity: 

• Undermining of the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation: By means of private bills aimed at privatizing it, the introduction of political oversight mechanisms, and the reduction of mandatory funding, an attempt is being made to diminish the IPBC’s autonomy and increase its reliance on the government. For example, Likud MK Ariel Kellner proposed legislation requiring the IPBC to finance various initiatives, including subsidies for commercial channels like Channel 14. Top of Form.
  
• Benefits for Channel 14: The government has been granting significant economic benefits to Channel 14, which has exclusively aligned itself with the government’s messaging. These benefits include reduced distribution fees, access to various tax incentives, and regulatory reliefs allowing it to operate with fewer restrictions than other commercial channels. These advantages strengthen its status versus the latter and enable it to go on serving as a media outlet closely aligned with the government’s positions, thereby weakening the democratic balance in the Israeli media landscape.
• Politicization of Regulatory Bodies: One of the most worrisome developments is the politicization of the regulatory bodies overseeing Israel’s media channels. Instead of functioning as independent institutions safeguarding the public interest, efforts are made to position political allies in these bodies by appointing individuals openly supportive of the government’s positions to senior key roles in the Second Authority for Television and Radio and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council. These moves raise fears that the regulatory bodies might operate in alignment with the government’s policies rather than with the needs of the general public. This could result in decisions aimed at increasing government influence over broadcast content while restricting journalistic criticism.
• Damaging Critical Media Outlets: the government approved the law on Foreign Broadcasting Entities “harming state security”, as a temporary provision allowing it to shut down foreign media outlets. This extreme legislation, passed under the guise of wartime emergency measures, grants the political leadership the authority to prevent foreign media from operating in Israel, thereby restricting the Israeli public’s access to diverse perspectives, including those that contradict the Israeli government’s narrative or are not aired by domestic media outlets. A private bill to turn this temporary provision into permanent law, which significantly expands the application of the temporary provision, passed its preliminary reading. the government also approved Karhi’s proposal to sever all advertising and business ties with Haaretz in order to damage its income.

Zulat warns that these measures endanger the independence of the media, contravene the public interest, and could lead to extensive government control over the Israeli media.