Karhi\u2019s proposal\u00a0<\/a>would dilute the hold a handful of legacy news outlets have over the mediasphere by doing away with laws limiting broadcast licenses, while increasing competition and consumer choice. At the same time, it would create a government controlled panel with the power to shape content via various pressure tactics, such as fines.<\/p>\n Critics say the reform will stifle free speech and replace it with content driven by corporate or political interests.<\/p>\n \t The proposed legislation has received widespread criticism from opposition figures, good governance organizations, and the attorney general.<\/p>\n The attorney general, opposing the legislation, has advised that it presents \u201creal concern of severe harm to freedom of expression and freedom of the press.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill has already passed one Knesset reading, and it will become law if it passes two more plenum votes.<\/p>\n During the committee session, Karhi reiterated his claim that the legislation will lead to a \u201cfree and competitive market, less regulation and fewer barriers, less state intervention, and more freedom for the public.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe entire process of establishing this committee \u2014 including your selection as chair \u2014 represents the height of dictatorship, aimed solely at seizing control of the free communications market,\u201d said Yesh Atid MK Shelly Tal Marom, directly addressing Distel Atbaryan, a vocal opponent of Israeli media who is seen as a Netanyahu loyalist.<\/p>\n \t Under normal Knesset procedures, the bill would be taken up by the Knesset Economics Committee, which usually deals with media-related legislation, before being advanced for a second and third reading in the Knesset.<\/p>\n Instead, however, Karhi requested that a new \u201cmedia committee\u201d be established to consider the bill.<\/p>\n He is thought to have sought to bypass the Economics Committee due to opposition from its chair, Likud MK David Bitan, who previously blocked Karhi\u2019s bill to shut down the Kan public broadcaster.<\/p>\n Karhi denied trying to bypass Bitan<\/a> during Monday\u2019s session, saying he invites discussion in the legislative process, but is adamant that the bill not be stopped \u201cby unions, monopolies, or by those who fear the free expression of parts of the public.\u201d<\/p>\n In response, Labor MK Efrat Rayten said, \u201cThis entire Knesset has been commandeered for one supposedly sacred purpose: tearing down state institutions as part of an attack on democracy and silencing opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n Yesh Atid MK Karine Elharrar added that \u201cthe role of the media is to criticize those in power \u2014 and that is what you dislike.\u201d<\/p>\n \t In response to criticism from opposition MKs that the legislation is an attempt by the government to suppress media it dislikes, similar to legislative advances in Hungary and Poland, Karhi said that the new authority created by the legislation would not interfere in content.<\/p>\n He added that fines will only apply to issues of competition, not content: \u201cFor example, a certain channel that discriminates by selling at one price to one provider and at four times that price to others would receive a fine, but only after being allowed to correct it and refusing to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n An irrelevant bill<\/p>\n During Monday\u2019s hearing, Esther Buchstav, whose son Yagev Buchshtav <\/a>was kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Nirim on October 7, 2023, assailed the special panel for spending time advancing an \u201cirrelevant\u201d bill instead of establishing a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas attack.<\/p>\n \u201cI see you dealing with a law that isn\u2019t at all relevant to our lives. What\u2019s relevant is to think about how we can heal from October 7, to understand what happened during that day and what has happened since,\u201d she said, speaking before the committee.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy were decisions made to abandon hostages in the tunnels? And it\u2019s a fact that this decision was made: My son was abandoned,\u201d Buchstav continued.<\/p>\n \t According to Buchstav, the Israel Defense Forces informed the family that her son, 35, was executed in February 2024 by Hamas inside a tunnel, as troops were closing in.<\/p>\n His body was recovered<\/a> by IDF troops from Khan Younis in August 2024 alongside those of Avraham Munder, Nadav Popplewell, Alex Dancyg, Chaim Peri, and Yoram Metzger, all of whom were kidnapped alive and slain in captivity.<\/p>\n Master Sgt. Ran Gvili remains the last deceased hostage held in Gaza.<\/p>\n Addressing Karhi directly, Buchstav said, \u201cI want you to look me in the eyes. MK Shlomo Karhi, you spoke with me and promised me that you would do everything [to help], and you haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t know what happened on October 7. There still hasn\u2019t been a state commission of inquiry<\/a>,\u201d she added. \u201cThis is what you should be dealing with as members of the Knesset, as members of the government.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/F251208YS39-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tCommunications Minister Shlomo Karhi at the Special Committee for the Communications Law at the Knesset, December 8, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/F251208YS30-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tYesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak being removed from the Special Committee for the Communications Law at the Knesset, December 8, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/F251208YS46-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tYesh Atid MK Debbie Biton being removed from the Special Committee for the Communications Law at the Knesset, December 8, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/56456345-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tYagev Buchshtav (Courtesy)<\/p>\n