Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Photo: AP
Netanyahu plans on closing down both public broadcasts
Netanyahu announces plan to shut down the Israel Broadcasting Authority and its replacement days after vowing to improve the IBA; Economic Affairs Committee Chairperson Eitan Cabel (Zionist Union) responds by saying, 'Netanyahu is looking to pummel public broadcasting. That’s his only goal.'
A mere three days after declaring before the Knesset that he intends to “rehabilitate” the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) that is currently in place and to cancel the launching of its replacement, the Israel Public broadcasting Corporation (IPBC), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come out with a different proposal: namely, to shut both organizations and allocate the money that would have been invested in them toward those living in the north of Israel.
Netanyahu raised this suggestion during an unexpected visit of his to a meeting of a team the he and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) put together to examine alternatives to the public broadcasting system. The meeting was attended by PMO Chief-of-Staff Yoav Horowitz, PMO Director-General Eli Groner, Finance Ministry Director-General Shai Babed, Communications Ministry Director-General Shlomo Filber and Finance Ministry Budget Chief Amir Levi.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
During the meeting, Finance Ministry representatives presented data claiming that it will cost an additional NIS 400 million to cancel launching the IPBC and continue the operation of the IBA instead.
Toward the end of the meeting, Netanyahu made a surprise appearance. After being informed that the Ministry of finance could not supply the hundreds of millions of shekels needed to “rehabilitate” the IBA, he turned to Amir Levi and asked him, “What about the plan we promoted in 2003?”
Back in 2003, Netanyahu was the minister of finance and Levi was the ministry’s budget and communications chief, when Netanyahu had pushed to closed the IBA and sustain only the profitable radio stations. Since no one at the time had thought that a replacement to the IBA would ever be set up or that it might ever be shut down, the plan was rejected.
Responding to Netanyahu’s current suggestion to re-examine the ’03 plan, a surprised Levi said, “The finance minister is not familiar with such a suggestion or plan, so we cannot discuss it or make any decisions regarding it.”
Babed was also no enthusiastic about taking another look at the ’03 suggestion, saying that it was no longer relevant since at this point, hundreds of people have already been recruited after leaving their jobs and building a new working model for the IPBC. He also referred to Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon’s vehement objection to any move that would stop the IPBC from moving ahead toward its launch.
MK Eitan Cabel (center) from the Zionist Union at the Economic Affairs Committee Photo: Alex Komoloisky)
Economic Affairs Committee Chairperson Eitan Cabel (Zionist Union) was also very much against the prime minister’s new suggestion. “It’s obvious that this bizarre idea was invented by Netanyahu. I doubt anyone really bought into the stories of Netanyahu caring about the workers of the Israel Broadcasting Authority when he compared them to the Hamas during his election campaign. If anyone thought that Netanyahu is interested in people in general and in these workers in particular, he now got a definitive answer: Netanyahu is looking to pummel public broadcasting. That’s his only goal.”
High-ranking officials in the coalition claimed that Netanyahu is seemingly determined to cancel the IPBC, to the point of him threatening to dissolvethe government and calling for an election if he fails to manage it within the current framework. However, the same officials say this is all a spin. “Even if he does go for a new election over this corporation story, he won’t manage to pass any legislation that would close it down, leaving him with the opposite result.”
A mere three days after declaring before the Knesset that he intends to “rehabilitate” the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) that is currently in place and to cancel the launching of its replacement, the Israel Public broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4873737,00.html , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come out with a different proposal: namely, to shut both organizations and allocate the money that would have been invested in them toward those living in the north of Israel.
Netanyahu raised this suggestion during an unexpected visit of his to a meeting of a team the he and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) put together to examine alternatives to the public broadcasting system. The meeting was attended by PMO Chief-of-Staff Yoav Horowitz, PMO Director-General Eli Groner, Finance Ministry Director-General Shai Babed, Communications Ministry Director-General Shlomo Filber and Finance Ministry Budget Chief Amir Levi.
During the meeting, Finance Ministry representatives presented data claiming that it will cost an additional NIS 400 million to cancel launching the IPBC and continue the operation of the IBA instead.
Toward the end of the meeting, Netanyahu made a surprise appearance. After being informed that the Ministry of finance could not supply the hundreds of millions of shekels needed to “rehabilitate” the IBA, he turned to Amir Levi and asked him, “What about the plan we promoted in 2003?”
Back in 2003, Netanyahu was the minister of finance and Levi was the ministry’s budget and communications chief, when Netanyahu had pushed to closed the IBA and sustain only the profitable radio stations. Since no one at the time had thought that a replacement to the IBA would ever be set up or that it might ever be shut down, the plan was rejected.
Responding to Netanyahu’s current suggestion to re-examine the ’03 plan, a surprised Levi said, “The finance minister is not familiar with such a suggestion or plan, so we cannot discuss it or make any decisions regarding it.”
Babed was also no enthusiastic about taking another look at the ’03 suggestion, saying that it was no longer relevant since at this point, hundreds of people have already been recruited after leaving their jobs and building a new working model for the IPBC. He also referred to Kahlon’s own vehement objection to any move that would stop the IPBC from moving ahead toward its launch.
Economic Affairs Committee Chairperson Eitan Cabel (Zionist Union) was also very much against the prime minister’s new suggestion. “It’s obvious that this bizarre idea was invented by Netanyahu. I doubt anyone really bought into the stories of Netanyahu caring about the workers of the Israel Broadcasting Authority when he compared them to the Hamas during his election campaign. If anyone thought that Netanyahu is interested in people in general and in these workers in particular, he now got a definitive answer: Netanyahu is looking to pummel public broadcasting. That’s his only goal.”
High-ranking officials in the coalition claimed that Netanyahu is seemingly determined to cancel the IPBC, to the point of him threatening to dissolvethe government and calling for an election if he fails to manage it within the current framework. However, the same officials say this is all a spin. “Even if he does go for a new election over this corporation story, he won’t manage to pass any legislation that would close it down, leaving him with the opposite result.”
