High Court annuls controversial government appointments to broadcast regulator

The High Court of Justice unanimously annulled the government’s appointment of the chairman of the Second Authority commercial broadcasting regulator, Yifat Ben Hai Segev, on Tuesday, as well as the appointment of two other members of that body. The court ruled that the appointment of Ben Hai Segev, a witness in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial, violated Netanyahu’s legal conflict of interest agreement, and that the two other appointments were made without evaluating comments they made denouncing media outlets which they would be responsible for regulating. Although only three appointments to the 15-member panel were annulled by the court, it ruled that all new appointments made by the government to the Second Authority in March this year should now be reviewed again since the council must be appointed as a collective slate reflecting a diversity of public views. The Second Authority case created a near-constitutional crisis after the High Court issued an interim decision against the government in June this year, which prompted the government to pass an unprecedented cabinet resolution stating it would not respect the terms of that decision. The Union of Journalists in Israel, which petitioned the court against the appointments, said the decision was “an important victory, adding that “those entrusted with regulating the media industry must be professionals, free of political affiliations and not serving the interests of the government.” Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who had a big role in the appointments, denounced the court, however, saying it had no authority to annul the appointments and vowed that a new right-wing coalition would restrict the court’s ability to annul Knesset legislation and government decisions. Supreme Court President Isaac Amit presides over a court hearing, August 26, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90) The struggle over the membership of the Second Authority has centered around a proposed buyout of Channel 13 by a group of high-tech entrepreneurs, headed by a prominent critic of the government, which the Second Authority council must approve. In March this year, the government appointed nine new members of the Second Authority council, including Ben Hai Segev as chair, as well as Kinneret Barashi and Haim Shein, two outspoken supporters of the current government who have fiercely criticized some of the media outlets regulated by the Second Authority, including Channel 12 and Channel 13. Advertisement It also appointed six members of the existing council to another term. Critics of the government accused Karhi and the government of trying to assert political control over the council to thwart the buyout, and several organizations petitioned the court against the appointments, including the Union of Journalists in Israel, the Israel Press Council, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, and others. In the court’s ruling on Tuesday, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit determined that the Committee for Vetting Appointments, which reviews government nominees for the Second Authority Council, failed to properly examine harsh comments made by Barashi and Shein against the media and commercial channels they would be responsible for regulating. Amit cited comments by Barashi in which she accused the mainstream Israeli media of causing terror attacks against Jews around the world for their reporting on the war and saying that Channel 13 in particular “broadcast like [Islamic] Jihad,” and that “Blood libels against Jews come out from Channel 12 and Channel 13,” which she further described as “two total political parties.” In a similar vein, Shein said that the general public was “disgusted” with the commercial channels, which he said “reminds them of Al Jazeera.” Amit noted that the Committee for Vetting Appointments failed to review these comments and assess their impact on Barashi and Shtein’s candidacies, something he said was a fundamental failure and which invalidated their appointment. Advertisement Yifat Ben-Hai Segev, former head of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, seen after a court hearing in the trial against former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the District Court in Jerusalem on December 13, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90) Regarding Ben Hai Segev’s appointment as chair of the council, Amit underlined the provisions of the conflict-of-interest agreement Netanyahu signed in legal proceedings, in which the High Court ruled he could continue serving as prime minister despite being on trial in 2020. The agreement forbade Netanyahu from any involvement in anything to do with witnesses in his trial. However, the prime minister was present for and voted in favor of Ben Hai Segev’s appointment. The vote was held for a second time a few days later because of the conflict-of-interest agreement, but Amit wrote that it was impossible to assert that this second vote was free of the prime minister’s influence after he voted in favor of Ben Hai Segev just a few days earlier in the same cabinet forum. “There is a flaw in the prime minister acting to advance the appointment of a witness in his trial to a senior public position,” wrote Amit, noting that Ben Hai Segev changed her testimony in court in favor of Netanyahu from what she had originally told police investigators. In May, the High Court froze the government appointments made to the Second Authority Council, and then in June issued another decision designed to thwart further efforts by Karhi to influence the composition of the Second Authority. The government passed an unprecedented resolution saying it would not abide by the results of any decision made by the agency regarding Channel 13 under the terms of the court decision. The Second Authority has yet to decide whether or not to approve the acquisition of Channel 13, meaning that the government’s threat and the potential constitutional crisis were never realized. Ben Hai Segev herself announced in July that she had resigned from the position of council chair because of the High Court freeze on the operations of the Second Authority. Advertisement “The ruling sets a boundary for a government that advances improper appointments during a state of emergency. War does not grant permission to circumvent the law or turn media regulation into a tool serving those in power,” the Movement for Quality Government said in response to the decision. Karhi slammed the decision and called on the Knesset to convene and declare that the court does not have the authority to cancel legislation or “take government authorities into its hands.” “The High Court of Justice continues to trample the law, undermine the will of the people, and arrogate to itself powers that were never granted to it,” he said. Karhi further vowed to “complete the fundamental reform of the judicial system, restore the balance between the branches of government, and return power to the people and their elected representatives,” in reference to plans by the coalition to restrict the High Court’s power of judicial review over legislation and government decisions if it wins power again in the upcoming election. 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