The Israeli government announced Sunday it will not recognize any decision, approval, appointment, or action taken by the Second Authority Council as long as it does not meet the statutory minimum membership threshold, directly challenging a High Court ruling that reinstated the council. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin issued statements accusing the judiciary of overstepping its authority.
The Israeli government on Sunday unanimously declared it will not recognize any decision, approval, appointment, or action taken by the Second Authority Council — the regulatory body for broadcast media — unless it meets the statutory minimum membership threshold, directly defying a High Court of Justice ruling. The declaration, approved at a cabinet meeting, escalates the government's challenge to the judiciary, with Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin leading the initiative, as The Zioneer reported at 13:32 Jerusalem.
The High Court ruled on June 17 that the outgoing council could convene and make decisions without members who had resigned, as The Zioneer reported. The government initially responded by approving a declaration to use 'all legal tools' to annul the ruling, reported at 13:32 Jerusalem on Sunday. Later in the same cabinet meeting, ministers Karhi and Levin proposed the formal non-recognition declaration, which the government then unanimously approved — all three milestones reported at the same time.
The move is the latest in the government's escalating confrontation with the judiciary. Supreme Court President Isaac Amit warned on June 21 that political appointments to the judiciary would reshape the system within 15 years, as The Zioneer reported. Opposition figures, including former war cabinet observer Gadi Eisenkot, have called the government's refusal to comply with the High Court ruling a 'declaration of rebellion against the rule of law.'
The legal consequences of the government's declaration remain unclear. The High Court's order is binding, and the government has not specified how it will enforce its stated position. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not attend the cabinet meeting, according to the initial report at 13:32 Jerusalem.
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