Netanyahu court clash puts Israel’s media fight on bigger stage

A technical dispute with institutional stakes

A fight over Israel’s commercial broadcast regulator has widened into a test of whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet will accept rulings from the country’s highest court. The immediate dispute concerns the Second Authority for Television and Radio, whose council the Supreme Court allowed to keep operating despite falling below a two-thirds quorum after resignations from the body.haaretz

The cabinet declared on July 5 that it would not recognize decisions made by the council in its current status, after Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and Justice Minister Yariv Levin argued the court had overridden a clear statutory requirement.haaretz The move is being treated by critics as unprecedented because it uses an executive decision to challenge a Supreme Court order, reviving the judicial-overhaul fight that brought mass protests before the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.ft

The media fight sits underneath the legal one

The regulator oversees commercial broadcasters including Channel 13, a frequent critic of the government, and the dispute is tied to a proposed purchase of the channel by high-tech entrepreneurs viewed as hostile to Netanyahu’s coalition.al-monitor +1 Petitioners have alleged Karhi sought political control over the council to block that transaction, while the court’s June ruling said the body could continue working despite the quorum problem.al-monitor

ABC reported Sunday that the confrontation fits a wider campaign against critical media, including pressure on the Kan public broadcaster, the closure of Al Jazeera’s Israel operations, and government moves affecting Army Radio and Haaretz.[0] Press-freedom advocates quoted in the report said the government has been accelerating efforts to weaken independent media as elections approach.[0]

Warnings now center on who must obey whom

President Isaac Herzog called refusal to comply with court rulings a “red line,” while opposition leader Yair Lapid said the government was destroying democratic foundations.haaretz All living former presidents of Israel’s Supreme Court — Aharon Barak, Dorit Beinisch, Asher Grunis, Esther Hayut and Uzi Vogelman — warned that ignoring court decisions would lead to “anarchy” and concentrate state power in one body.washingtonexaminer

The government has tried to soften the implications. Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar said Netanyahu would comply with High Court decisions and argued the cabinet resolution was meant to prevent, not trigger, a constitutional crisis.al-monitor Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs also said the statement amounted to sharp criticism rather than a call for disobedience.ft +1

Elections raise the risk of a broader clash

Israel is expected to hold a national election by late October, adding urgency to a dispute over the balance among the cabinet, the courts and media regulators.ft Critics fear the regulator case could become a template for defying rulings in higher-stakes fights, including election administration and future challenges to government power.[0]

For now, the practical impact may be limited if the Second Authority takes no contested action. The constitutional danger is larger: a cabinet that says one institution lacks authority, a court that says it does, and public bodies forced to decide which command governs.ft +1