Moreover, immediately after the enactment of the Communications Law, petitions were filed against its validity, requesting an interim order to freeze the law's entry into force; In his decision of July 19,2026, the judge ordered A. Grosskopf on the issuance of a temporary injunction regarding the provisions of the law that apply from the date of publication, delaying their entry into force until the date of a decision on the requests for an interim order. Therefore, even today, the enactment of the Communications Law does not change the factual reality, since the question of how and whether the law will actually affect the communications market is not sufficiently clear at this stage. In any event, to the extent that this court is under the impression that there is substance to the petitioners' arguments in the petitions against the Communications Law, then the appropriate remedy will be given in the framework of the judgment in the petitions filed in respect thereof.
With regard to the dismissal of the Chairman of the Search Committee for the members of the Board of the Broadcasting Corporation from its position - on May 12,2026, a judgment, a partial judgment and a decision were issued in the matter of the Board of the Corporation, in which it was determined that the decision to remove the Chairman of the Search Committee - was canceled; that the candidacy of four candidates to fill the vacant seats on the committee will be forwarded to the appointments committee for review; and that if the appointments committee approves them, the Minister of Communications will decide whether to approve the appointments or not. Therefore, even in relation to this matter, it is too early to know what the day will bring, and it is not possible to assess at this stage if and what real impact these developments will have on the actual communications market (see and compare: High Court of Justice 5658/23 The Movement for Quality Government in Israel v. The Knesset, paragraphs 38-42 of my opinion [Nevo] (January 1,2024) (hereinafter: The judgment regarding the cancellation of the grounds of reasonableness)).
- As stated, another reason for which the petitioners and the Attorney General claim that the decision to close the Galei Tzahal station should be viewed as a preliminary arrangement is that throughout the years of its existence, the station has acquired a central position in Israeli culture and publicity, and its closure arouses real controversy among the public. Indeed, it seems that there is no dispute that throughout its 75 years of operation, the Army Radio station has acquired a real status in Israeli culture and the public, and therefore it is not surprising that the decision to close it arouses intense public controversy. However, the rule is that the mere existence of a public dispute with respect to a particular arrangement does not, in and of itself, make it a preliminary arrangement that requires Knesset legislation (the matter of the gas outline, paragraph 45 of the opinion of Justice Sohlberg; High Court of Justice 4253/02 Kiriti v. Attorney General, paragraph 48 of the judgment of Justice M. Naor [Nevo] (March 17,2009); Dafna Barak-Erez, Administrative Law, vol. 1, vol. 1,138-139 (2010) (hereinafter: Barak-Erez, vol. 1)).
- For the reasons I have detailed above, I am of the opinion that even if the closure of the station will cause some infringement of the right to freedom of expression, and despite the status that the station has given it, in the right, in the public and in Israeli culture, the decision to close Galatz does not constitute a preliminary arrangement that must be determined by primary legislation alone.
A.2. Do the legislative arrangements dealing with the station require that its closure be carried out by primary legislation?
- As I noted above, the second argument in the realm of authority is that although the Galei Tzahal station was established by a government decision, in that the Knesset has enshrined, over the years, various aspects relating to Galatz in primary legislation, the station's status has been "upgraded", so that it should be viewed as if it had been established in primary legislation in the first place.
- As the petitioners and the Attorney General point out, even though at the time the decision to establish the station was made (1950), there was no legislative arrangement that regulated the issue; over the years, aspects of the station's activity were regulated by primary legislation. Thus, in 1965, civilian supervision of non-military station broadcasts was regulated for the first time in section 48 of the Broadcasting Authority Law, 5725-1965 (hereinafter: the Broadcasting Authority Law). This section stipulates that the Broadcasting Authority will have, with respect to Army Radio, with respect to its non-military programs, the same powers it has with respect to the State Broadcasting Service, and it will fulfill the same functions in respect of them. In 2014, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Law, 5774-2014 (hereinafter: the Public Broadcasting Law), was enacted, in the framework of which the Broadcasting Authority was closed and the Public Broadcasting Corporation was established in its place. Section 88 of the Public Broadcasting Law replaced Section 48 of the Broadcasting Authority Law that preceded it, while expanding and adding to it. Thus, Section 88(a) of the Public Broadcasting Law defines the term "Army Radio" as "radio broadcasts of the Israel Defense Forces", and the term "commander of Army Radio" as "a person appointed or authorized by the Minister of Defense to be the commander of Army Radio". In addition, this section establishes various arrangements with respect to the powers of the Public Broadcasting Authority Council vis-à-vis Army Radio, including: that the Council shall have, with respect to Army Radio, with respect to the station's programs that are not military programs, the same powers given to it with respect to the broadcasts of the Israel Broadcasting Corporation (Section 88(b) of the Public Broadcasting Law); that the procedures for supervising non-military programs of Army Radio will be determined within the framework of the rules that the Council is authorized to determine under Section 90 of the Public Broadcasting Law, provided that these rules are approved by the Minister of Communications and the Minister of Defense (Section 88(c) of the Public Broadcasting Law); and that the Commander of Army Radio will be invited to participate, as an advisory opinion, in meetings of the Public Broadcasting Council (Section 88(d) of the Public Broadcasting Law).
In addition to the arrangement set forth in the Public Broadcasting Law, which seems to be indisputably the most comprehensive legislative arrangement relating to Galatz, three additional pieces of legislation relating to the station may be pointed to: In 1984, it was stated, In the section 2 of the Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law, 5744-1984, that the Galei Tzahal station is a broadcasting organization for the purposes of the provisions of the law relating to the protection of copyright in broadcasting (Section 2(3)(A) to the same law); In 1990, as part of the enactment of the Second Authority for Television and Radio Law, 5750-1990, it was added Section 44A to the Broadcasting Authority Law, which stipulates that the channels and radio frequencies available to the State of Israel, in accordance with international arrangements, shall be used, inter alia, for "Army Radio Broadcasts - Israel Defense Forces Radio Broadcasts(It should be noted that this arrangement was also replaced in 2014 by the Public Broadcasting Law, where an identical arrangement was established In the section 85 of the aforementioned law); and in 2005 it was enacted The Army Radio Law - Radio Broadcasts of the Israel Defense Forces (Sponsorship Broadcasts and Public Service Announcements), 5765-2005 (hereinafter: The Sponsorship Broadcasts and Public Service Announcements Law on Galatz) - A law that bears the name of the station in its title, and establishes specific provisions regarding sponsorship broadcasts and public service announcements on the station, which are its main source of income.