Civil Case (Tel Aviv) 16283-06-23 S.T. Zehavi Ltd. v. Non-Stop Radio Ltd.

The claim before me was filed by radio broadcaster Natan Zehavi and S.I.T.  Zehavi Ltd., through which he entered into a broadcasting contract (hereinafter: "Zehavi" or "the Plaintiffs"( against the broadcasting station - Radio 103 (Non-Stop Radio( Ltd.  (hereinafter: "the Defendant" or "the Station").  At the basis of the lawsuit is a public statement by Zahavi on his program on November 13, 2022, following which the station suspended Zahavi from the broadcast and demanded his apology as well as the deposit of guarantees to prevent future regulatory violations, as a condition for his return to broadcasting.  Zahavi, for his part, refused these demands, claiming that they deviated from the contractual agreements between the parties.  The main dispute in the proceeding poses the legal question: does the station's decision to suspend Zahavi and demand these terms constitute a fundamental breach of the agreement for the provision of services, or whether Zehavi's refusal to accept the management's instructions and to observe the rules of the Second Authority, as claimed by the defendant, amounts to a breach of contract on his part that justifies the termination of the engagement.

Introduction;

1. Plaintiff No. 2, Natan Zehavi, is a veteran and well-known media personality and radio broadcaster in Israel, and Plaintiff No. 1, S.I.T. Zehavi Ltd., is a company owned and controlled by him.  The defendant, Radio 103 (Non-Stop Radio( Ltd., is a regional broadcasting station that operates by virtue of a concession and a public license under the Second Authority for Television and Radio Law, 5750-1990.  (Hereinafter: the "Second Authority Law").  At the relevant times of the proceeding, Mr. Or Zelkovnik (hereinafter: "Zelkovnik"( served as the defendant's CEO and editor-in-chief and Adv. Dr.  Hillel Sommer (hereinafter: " Sommer"), served as the defendant's legal advisor and represented it in negotiations with the Second Authority and the plaintiffs.
2. On September 8, 1997, the first contract for the provision of services was signed between plaintiff 1 and the defendant (hereinafter: the "1997 Agreement"), which was intended to regulate the production and broadcasting of a personal, opinionated and biting radio program called "Nervous Zehavi". On May 9, 2007, an additional agreement was signed between the parties, which was intended to regulate the continuation of the relationship between the parties with regard to the production of the plan (hereinafter: the "2007 Agreement").  This agreement was in a similar wording to the agreement from 1997, however, since this agreement was the agreement that the parties extended from time to time, as will be detailed below, I find it appropriate to bring the relevant clauses of this agreement for the rest of the year (see also a discussion of paragraph 42 below of the judgment in this regard).

Clause 2.1 of the agreement stipulates that plaintiff 1 will provide the station, through Zahavi, with services as a broadcaster in the scope of 4 to 8 hours per week on Sundays, Tuesdays and Saturdays on dates as will be agreed upon between the parties.