The Shas faction announced it cannot back Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi's broadcast law in its current form, citing the absence of amendments demanded by its rabbis regarding Shabbat protection and a 'pornography' clause. The development, reported by N12's Daphna Liel, further erodes the coalition's internal support for the bill and follows UTJ's earlier decision to oppose it.
Shas on Monday evening effectively joined United Torah Judaism in opposition to Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi's broadcast reform bill, announcing it cannot support the legislation as drafted because amendments demanded by the party's rabbis — on Shabbat protection and a 'pornography' clause — were not included. The announcement, reported by N12's Daphna Liel, came just hours after UTJ faction leaders MKs Yitzhak Goldknopf and Moshe Gafni unified their entire faction in opposition earlier Monday afternoon, as The Zioneer reported at 13:23 Jerusalem. Shas has reportedly indicated willingness to support a split version of the bill that would provide regulatory relief for new channels including Channel 14, but with both Haredi parties withholding their votes, the main bill appears to lack the coalition's internal backing.
The Zioneer's thread on this story began at 10:13 Jerusalem Monday with Liel's initial report that Interior Minister Aryeh Deri would face a clash between his rabbis' opposition to the bill and coalition pressure to support it in exchange for a kashrut law. By 10:13, Channel 12's Eli Hirshman reported that Shas had not yet declared its vote, with some rabbis opposed on Shabbat and indecency grounds, and that coalition leaders were offering to advance the kashrut law in return. At 13:22, The Zioneer reported that the Knesset legal advisor had invalidated a related amendment on procedural grounds — a split-off clause on regulating 'broadcasts of abomination' could not be retroactively added, and a Shabbat reservation was inserted without committee discussion. At 13:23, Goldknopf and Gafni confirmed UTJ's unified opposition. Shas's own announcement followed, at 10:13 (the thread's first version) and later at 17:14, when it formally offered to support only the split bill's regulatory-relief sections.
As The Zioneer reported on June 14, UTJ had drawn red lines in the broadcast law debate centered on Shabbat sanctity and protection of Israel's Jewish character. The Knesset Communications Committee approved the bill for final readings on Monday at 14:31 Jerusalem, despite UTJ's announced opposition. The Justice Ministry's legal adviser also ruled Monday at 10:06 that the government cannot alter Shabbat settings or the 'pornography issue' in the government app, a setback for Karhi and ultra-Orthodox politicians, as The Zioneer reported.
It remains unclear whether the coalition will attempt to bring a pared-down version — the split bill Shas says it would support — to a vote before the Knesset's expected dissolution. No faction has indicated a change in position.
5 developments
- StrongGoldknopf and Gafni both say UTJ will vote against broadcast law
- DevelopingExposed recordings: Shas rabbis issue harsh criticism of Minister Karhi, call broadcast reform 'absolute prohibition'
- DevelopingKara opens debate on media law, opposition objects
- DevelopingShas senior hits back at UTJ: accusations false, harmful to Torah world
Source and signal
- Internal intake