The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) released on Thursday a statement in which it expressed its concerns over the Israeli government's intentions to shut down the country's public broadcaster Kan.
The EBU, which is also in charge of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, said in the statement that “impartial news and information are critical to the functioning of a healthy democracy."
“We call on the Israeli government to safeguard the independence of our member Kan," EBU director Noel Curran said. "And ensure it is allowed to operate in a sustainable way, with funding that is both stable, adequate, fair, and transparent.”
The warning follows remarks by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who said last month that “there is no place for public broadcasting in Israel.”
Karhi, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, also argued that Israel's media market should be “opened up to competition.”
The intervention of the European Broadcasting Union comes after days of tense clashes between Karhi and Kan. Earlier this week, the parties discussed the potential privatization of three of the corporation's radio stations.
At the meeting, the corporation made it clear that the move could lead to layoffs. Communications Ministry officials were furious that the corporation failed to provide any other substantive information.
In a letter, Karhi also accused Kan of biased coverage of the judicial reform, claiming it was violating Israel's Public Broadcasting Law, which requires the station and its subsidiaries to provide impartial news coverage.
Senior Kan officials cast the ministry's moves as censorship.