The IPBC begins bradcasts
High Court issues injunction against separate IPBC news division
Court gives State a month to defend amendment to Public Broadcasting Law that enables establishment of a separate news division for the IPBC.
The High Court of Justice issued on Monday a temporary injunction delaying the establishment of a news division separate from the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC).
As the IPBC opened its first day of broadcasting on Monday, the court gave the State a month to defend an amendment to the Public Broadcasting Law that enables the establishment of a separate news division.
The injunction will be extended until the court rules on the petitions filed against the amendment, thus delaying the establishment of the separate news division.
IPBC employees protest outside AG's house (Photo: Tal Shahar)
Several petitions have been filed to the court against the amendment, among others by MK Eitan Cabel (Zionist Union) and the IPBC itself.
"In this case before us, if amendment number 8 comes into effect, it would be hard and complicated to 'turn back the clock' if the petitions are accepted and the temporary injunction becomes permanent," the judges wrote.
The judges further noted that the amendment "does not allow for an appropriate 'transition period' for the reform it entails. This unlike the relatively long period of time that preceded the implementation of the 2014 Public Broadcasting Law, which was postponed several times following amendments proposed by the government as they claimed a long and sufficient period is needed to organize the change to Israel's public broadcasting infrastructure."
The court also decided that the matter would be brought before an expanded panel of justices.
