Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, under pressure from Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties, has reportedly agreed to return the controversial media reform bill to the Knesset Communications Committee for revision of the wording, according to journalist Eli Hirshman (N12). The move reverses Karhi's earlier refusal to send the bill back to committee.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has reversed his position and agreed to return the controversial media reform bill to the Knesset Communications Committee for rewording, according to journalist Eli Hirshman (N12) on Wednesday evening. The development comes hours after Karhi had refused to send the bill back to committee, insisting instead that Haredi lawmakers drop seven clauses establishing a digital tracking app during the final plenary vote, as The Zioneer reported at 16:05 Jerusalem. The reversal follows sustained pressure from Haredi coalition parties, who had warned that without a return to committee they would not support the legislation.
At 16:05 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that Karhi was refusing to return the broadcast law to committee for amendment, despite his promise to Haredi parties to cancel the digital tracking app provision. Instead, he asked Haredi lawmakers to remove seven clauses establishing the app during the final plenary vote. Minutes after that initial report, The Zioneer updated that Haredi parties suspected Karhi of misleading them by relying on clauses that mention the app 'in passing,' and a senior Haredi party figure warned: 'We are not suckers — if he does not return it to the committee, there is no law.' The thread shows that the coalition crisis escalated rapidly within the same hour, with the minister's refusal and the Haredi warning emerging almost simultaneously.
As The Zioneer has previously reported, the bill — which opponents call the 'media weakening law' — has been a flashpoint within the coalition. On Mon Jul 6, 14:31 Jerusalem, the Communications Committee approved the bill for second and third readings despite United Torah Judaism announcing its opposition. Later that day, at 20:28 Jerusalem, Karhi's office announced it would adopt an amendment by MK Avi Maoz to protect religious values, following demands from Shas and Degel HaTorah. Earlier, on Thu Jun 18, 10:42 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that Haredi parties were divided as the bill reached its final stages. The Knesset legal advisor also invalidated a related amendment on procedural grounds on Mon Jul 6, 13:22 Jerusalem.
The exact wording changes sought by the Haredi parties remain unspecified. The Zioneer will report on the committee's revised language and the coalition's next steps as they develop.
5 developments
- DevelopingKarhi's office confirms adoption of Maoz amendment to broadcast law
- DevelopingMinister Karhi accuses opposition of trying to sabotage media reform by leaning on law enforcement
- DevelopingHaredi parties divided as media-weakening bill reaches final stage
- Developingi24NEWS report details broadcast law controversy ahead of Knesset dissolution
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