Karhi has several times in the past called on the government to defy the High Court, something it has stopped short of doing but has threatened to do.<\/p>\n
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir accused the justices of \u201ctrampling the will of the people\u2019s elected representatives,\u201d Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that the court had \u201ccompletely lost all restraint in its war against the Knesset and the government of the nationalist camp.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/F260212CG57.jpg\")
\n\t\tSupreme Court justice Ofer Grosskopf arrives for a hearing on a petition to convene the Judicial Selection Committee at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, February 12, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
MK Efrat Rayten of the left-wing Democrats party, who petitioned the court against the law and who was on the special committee which prepared it, welcomed the decision, describing the legislation as having been designed \u201cto serve the political interests of a government headed by a criminal defendant, at the public\u2019s expense.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the court decision issued Sunday morning, Justice Ofer Grosskopf called the claims against the procedural problems and the substance of the law itself \u201cweighty.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also wrote that because of the broad scope of the changes brought about by the clauses of the law going into immediate effect and their expected impact on the media market, there was a concern of irreversible change to broadcast media in Israel before the court can even reach a final decision. This, he said, justified the partial freeze on implementation of the legislation,<\/p>\n
The freeze will be in effect until the court makes a decision as to whether to grant interim orders against the law which would freeze implementation until a final court ruling.<\/p>\n
The court gave the government given a week to respond in the meantime.<\/p>\n
The law, passed in the final hours of the outgoing Knesset\u2019s legislative term, significantly expands government control over broadcast media and news sector by overhauling media regulation.<\/p>\n
It removes longstanding oversight mechanisms, minimum journalistic standards, obligations to invest in original Israeli productions and restrictions on cross-ownership. And it gives the government greater influence over television ratings and state advertising allocation.<\/p>\n
The provisions of the law to be frozen include the clause that enabled so-called crossover ownership, whereby satellite and cable companies will be able to own news companies, something the petitioners say will increase market concentration in the media market.<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/F260706YS71.jpg\")
\n\t\tMK Galit Distel Atbaryan leads the Special Committee for the Communications Law in the Knesset, July 6, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
The court order also freezes the cancellation of the requirement that news outlets be held as a separate corporations from the television channel they are broadcast on, a regulation that was designed to reduce political interference in the news from the channel owner.<\/p>\n
The order also freezes a provision of the law that allowed a selection committee to be immediately established for the new regulatory body, which was expected to act swiftly in order to begin make regulatory decisions.<\/p>\n
Karhi, a far-right member of the Likud who routinely calls on the government to disobey the High Court, said he would boycott the legal proceedings, and called on Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to pass a special parliamentary resolution rebuking the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cI protest in defense of the honor of the people and the dignity of the Knesset of Israel,\u201d said Karhi.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not intend to step onto the field with my hands tied while the referee is wearing the uniform of the opposing team,\u201d he said in reference to his vow not to participate in the court proceedings while the court\u2019s temporary order was in effect.<\/p>\n
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel said that the temporary order would help protect the freedom and independence of the press in Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe law was advanced through a rushed process riddled with flaws, and it grants the political echelon extensive power over the communications market, broadcasting organizations, and news stations,\u201d the organization said.<\/p>\n
Ariela Karmel and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report<\/p>\n
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The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n
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