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Ministers criticise Netanyahu postponement of new public broadcast body

[ssba]

Several prominent Israeli government ministers have criticised a decision spearheaded by the Prime Minister to delay the launch of a new public broadcasting corporation by at least a year.

Legislation to overhaul Israel’s public broadcasting, mandated the establishment of a new public corporation set to begin transmissions in October.

However, in a joint statement earlier this week, the Communications Ministry which is headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Histadrut workers’ union said: “The new alternative public broadcasting via the new corporation is still not ready.”

In order to avoid “a break in public broadcasting,” the statement explained that the launch would be postponed until early 2018.

The new broadcasting corporation said that it would be ready to begin work on time and rejected what it called an attempt at “weakening public broadcasting in Israel”. The decision throws the immediate future of workers at the existing Israel Broadcasting Authority and the new corporation into confusion.

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who heads the Kulanu Party, has said that his party will oppose the postponement in government and in the Knesset. Kahlon explained that the postponement would cost significant money. He said: “We will not allow waste of public funds without any reason.”

Meanwhile, Education Minister and Jewish Home head Naftali Bennett also expressed his opposition to the decision. He inferred that the postponement was an attempt by Netanyahu to wield further control over the media, saying that it was “designed to restrict freedom of communications, and maybe even discipline the media”. His Jewish Home colleague, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked termed the delay “really astonishing”.

Netanyahu hit back, saying that criticism from the likes of Bennett and Shaked “doesn’t square” with their support for legislation which would have effectively shut down Israel Hayom, which is viewed as loyal to Netanyahu.

This morning, Maariv reports that Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who heads Yisrael Beitenu will add his opposition to the postponement early next week.