The Knesset legal advisor reportedly invalidated a proposed amendment to Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi's broadcast law, citing procedural defects — a split-off clause on regulating 'broadcasts of abomination' cannot be retroactively added, and a Shabbat reservation was inserted without committee discussion. The ruling puts the coalition's legislative push in jeopardy ahead of the Knesset's expected dissolution.
The Knesset legal advisor, attorney Sagit Afik, has reportedly ruled that Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi's proposed amendment to the broadcast law is procedurally invalid, according to media reports monitored by The Zioneer.
Afik determined that a clause aimed at regulating 'broadcasts of abomination' — which was split from the main bill at an early legislative stage — cannot be retroactively appended in the current amendment. She also found that a Shabbat-related reservation was inserted into the text without the required committee discussion, constituting a separate procedural defect that renders the amendment illegal in its present form.
The ruling comes as the coalition pushes a package of legislative moves ahead of the Knesset's expected dissolution, with the broadcast law at the center of controversy. As The Zioneer reported earlier Monday, Shas has not yet announced its position on the bill, and various coalition figures have been pressuring the party to support it in exchange for advancing other legislation, including the kashrut law. United Torah Judaism has previously set red lines on Shabbat issues in the broadcast law, and Haredi radio stations recently secured approval for nationwide broadcasts in a preliminary reading.
The legal opinion raises significant procedural hurdles for coalition leaders seeking to pass the amendment before the Knesset disperses. It remains unclear whether the government will attempt to revise the bill to address the procedural defects or abandon the legislative push.
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