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Kahlon: IPBC heads want elections, not compromise
The finance minister slams timing chosen by the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation's heads to announce journalist Geula Even-Sa'ar as their chief news anchor, saying choosing the wife of Netanyahu's political rival Gideon Sa'ar at this time is meant to foil compromise talks.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon was angered by the timing chosen by the heads of the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) to announce their pick for leading news anchor, arguing they were trying to foil a compromise agreement on the future of the broadcaster.
Journalist Geula Even-Sa'ar, who was chosen to anchor the state-funded channel's main news broadcast, is the wife of Gideon Sa'ar, a former Likud minister and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political rival.
Netanyahu, who is currently in China on a state visit, was also angered by the announcement, which came as his representatives and Kahlon's were working to reach a compromise on the matter.
.jpg "Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Photo: Zvika Tishler)")
"The heads of the IPBC want elections," Kahlon said in private conversations. "As far as they are concerned, this is the preferred option, because then, the IPBC will launch as it is."
Netanyahu has withdrawn his support for the IPBC, which is due to start broadcasting at the end of April, deciding instead to fight to keep the existing Israel Broadcast Authority (IBA) on air by combining the two public broadcasting bodies.
In a meeting on Saturday with Likud ministers, Netanyahu declared that he will stand against establishing the IPBC, adding, "If we don't reach an agreement with Kahlon, we will hold elections."
The prime minister asserted that restructuring the IPBC would not require further spending and that "the cost of keeping the IBA running is tens of millions of shekels cheaper than erecting the IPBC"—assertions Kahlon and the Finance Ministry have rejected.
As part of compromise negotiations, Netanyahu demanded the dismissal of the IPBC’s heads, CEO Eldad Koblenz and Chairman Gil Omer, something Kahlon hasn't objected to.
And while he had no problem with Even-Sa'ar leading the IPBC's news broadcast, Kahlon said on Tuesday that the timing of the announcement was problematic. "Talks have been going on for weeks," he said, "and for some reason, the announcement of her appointment only came out now."
"I have no doubt that the heads of the IPBC sat for a few months, shuffled things around, examined, reviewed," Kahlon said cynically at a conference in Tel Aviv, "and finally made the decision to announce the appointment.”
Sources close to Kahlon said Tuesday that after the heads of the IPBC realized that the prime minister was "walking all over them," they decided to escalate the confrontation.
In addition, Channel 2 News reported that in a recent conversation with senior officials at Army Radio, Kahlon made it clear that he was not committed to the heads of the IPBC.
"I'm only interested in the IPBC going live on time," he was quoted as saying. "What do I care who the managers are? What, are they my brothers-in-law?"
