Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara sharply criticized the committee tasked with determining Army Radio’s future on Wednesday. The committee had submitted its recommendations on the matter to Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday.
“The committee’s recommendations sound a major alarm on political intervention in public broadcasting,” wrote Deputy Attorneys-General Gil Limon and Avital Sompolinsky in the Wednesday letter making up the legal advisory’s opinion.
They added that “it also raises questions regarding harm incurred to freedom of expression and of the press.”
The recommendations submitted to Katz included either closing the entire radio station or shutting down its news section, which covers coverage, analysis, investigations, and more.
Penned to attorney Hila Ehrlich, the defense establishment’s legal adviser, the letter noted that Army Radio is one of the central public radio stations in Israel, “which is why careful attention must be given to make sure that no invalid political moves are being made against the freedom of speech.”
Netanyahu, Katz think Army Radio 'not needed'
According to media reports, on March 30, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Katz and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to look into closing the station, as “it is not needed.”
Limon and Sompolinsky noted the problematic nature of the committee pertaining to its makeup, the very short time it took to coalesce a professional opinion, and the lack of experts on the panel itself, including two with connections to the Likud.
The legal advisory said that as long as Katz wishes to advance changes to the station, all of these legal challenges must be addressed, “especially the weightier ones that relate to the freedom of the press and the freedom of expression, particularly considering the other steps this government has taken to affect the field of news and media in Israel as a whole.”