About 200 leading Israeli musicians have signed a petition against the government’s plan to shut down public broadcasting stations, promising to “fight to preserve democracy.”
Artists, including stars like Shlomo Artzi, Shalom Hanoch, Rita, Ninet Tayeb and Ehud Banai, joined hundreds of top actors, directors and writers who protested earlier in the week against plans to close Kan.
They also join protests by leading economists, business leaders, lawyers, students and other groups who are sounding the alarm about the government’s planned judicial reforms that critics warn will undermine democracy and the economy. rice field.
The government’s plans have sparked mass weekly protests, with another scheduled for Saturday.
“It is no coincidence that those plotting regime change and seeking to strip democracy of all meaning have chosen to eliminate public broadcasting as one of their first steps,” the musician wrote Thursday. announced.
“Closing the station is silencing the thousands of voices that cannot find a home in commercial media organizations,” it wrote. We are canceling these plans in partnership with all Israeli citizens to preserve the democracy we hold so dear.”
People protest against proposed changes to the justice system in Tel Aviv’s Habima Square on January 21, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Earlier this month, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said there was no reason to support Israel’s state broadcaster and indicated his intention to shut down the Kan station along with additional transmission regulators.
Hundreds of actors, directors, writers and other cultural figures attended a meeting against the plans held at the Tzavta Theater on Wednesday, along with workers from the Kan public broadcaster.
Ahead of the conference, organizers said the company provides employment for thousands of people, accounting for about 70% of those employed in the film and television industry.
In a statement, the organizers said, “Kahhi is tight-lipped and is drying up the wells from which original content draws its power. They say that original Hebrew content can be created without public support.” He denounced the idea as a “delusion.”
“If Hebrew original work is important to us, public broadcasting is essential and the company has proven this since its inception,” the statement said. “Creativity and free communication have social, moral and educational effects.”
Earlier this month, Karhi said the policy of his party, the Likud Party, is to “unblock and deregulate” the industry, allowing the free market to prevail.
“From my point of view, there is no place for public broadcasters in this era of a wide range of channels,” he added.
Communications Minister Shlomo Kali attends the Digital Journalism Conference at Reichmann University, Herzliya, 9 January 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
The Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has long been accused of trying to shut down Khan for criticizing the government while receiving public funding.
Kan hit airwaves in 2017 after a lengthy legislative battle to close and replace its predecessor, Israel Broadcasting Corporation.
At the time, then-Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had been communications minister for years, strongly opposed Suga’s creation, reportedly saying it was too left-wing and too difficult to control. claimed.
Internal disagreements on the issue nearly collapsed the coalition in 2017. But if the news department were to shut down now, the move is unlikely to face a backlash in Netanyahu’s current hardline right-wing religious government.
In addition to protesting Kang’s closure, music artists join the tide of opposition to plans to overhaul the justice system.
The plan seeks to severely limit the High Court’s ability to invalidate laws and government decisions, with an “override clause” allowing the Knesset to re-enact such invalid laws with a 61-majority majority. There is also
The proposed changes would give the government full control over the selection of judges. It prevents courts from using the test of “reasonableness” to judge legislation and government decisions. It also allows ministers to appoint their own legal advisers, instead of seeking advice from advisers operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice.
