These remarks, which were made for a significant period of time after the decision was made and in direct response to a question about it, show that the mindset that underpinned the decision, at least as far as Minister Katz was concerned, did not escape over time. The Minister reiterates the concrete content of the broadcasts, noting that the station "It deals with current political matters, unfortunately also 99% from a very specific direction", so much so that in the opinion of the Minister of the Station, due to the content of its broadcasts, "It supported the enemies, gave a boost to the Hamas members. It attacked soldiers and the IDF". This indicates that the consideration that motivated Minister Katz, both at the time of the decision and long afterwards, remains, to a decisive extent, the improper consideration: not the station's preoccupation with current affairs per se, but rather the view that the content of its broadcasts is inclined in a certain political direction that is not in line with the government's policy.
- In my view, the obvious conclusion from what is detailed above is that the petitioners and the Attorney General were able to show that, at least from the point of view of Ministers Karei and Katz, the improper consideration was the dominant consideration in their support of the decision to close the station.
B.2.2. Composition of the Advisory Committee and the Appointment of its Members as a Means of Realizing the Improper Consideration
- As already noted above, prior to the government's decision, an advisory committee was appointed by Minister Katz. Indeed, the mere appointment of such a committee can relieve, if only to a certain extent, the fear of considering extraneous considerations. This, of course, is conditional, inter alia, on the identity of the members of the committee and on their being a guarantee of considering only relevant considerations, as far as possible from any concern of extraneous considerations. However, the petitioners and the Attorney General argue that in the circumstances of the case, the composition of the committee and its activities do not diminish the concern of considering the improper consideration; Rather, it is the opposite. As I will explain below, I am of the opinion that in this matter as well, there is truth to what is being claimed.
- As described above, already in the Deputy Attorney General's letter to the Attorney General to the Attorney General dated September 10,2025, and even more strongly in the opinion of the Deputy Attorney General dated December 22,2025, it was claimed that two of the committee members have significant political affiliations with the Likud Party, a matter that raises real doubt as to the degree of objectivity of the committee's work. Thus, it was noted that Ms. Haetzni-Cohen is a member of the Likud Central Committee and chair of the organization "My Israel, " an organization that over the years has expressed strong criticism of Army Radio and its employees, including calls for its closure; and that Mr. Malka, who was also appointed to serve as secretary of the committee, served in 2023-2024 as deputy director general of the Ministry of Communications as a position of trust to Minister Kari, was included in the Likud faction's list for the 21-24th Knesset, and serves as deputy chairman of the "Liberals in the Likud" movement. In addition, it was claimed that a conflict of interest difficulty arose in the fact that Maj. (res.) Ron-Tal, who initially served as chairman of the committee, serves as a commentator on Channel 14, whose controlling shareholder is also the owner and controlling shareholder of the regional radio station Kol Chai, which was expected to benefit from the closure of the station. As may be recalled, against the background of these claims, Maj. Gen. (res.) Ron-Tal resigned from the committee, and in any case from its chairmanship, about a month after it began its work. However, it was argued that his active involvement in the management of the committee during that first month of its activity may, in itself, harm the legitimacy of the committee.
In addition to the conflict-of-interest claims, it was claimed that two members of the committee - Ms. Haetzni-Cohen and Mr. Malka - had previously spoken out against the Army Radio station and supported its closure, so that their appointments to the committee raised a real concern of bias. Thus, on June 22,2023, Ms. Haetzni-Cohen shared her account on the Internet.X"A publication written by another, in which the station was referred to as Galei Tzahal"The Terrorists' House(Section 84 of the Galatz Workers' Committee's petition); In another publication dated February 20,2024, Ms. Haetzni-Cohen shared a publication from the station's official account, in which she quoted from an interview with a family member of one of the abductees who were abducted on October 7, and responded to the remarks.Army Radio Against the State of Israel" (Name). Moreover, it was claimed that the association headed by Ms. Haetzni-Cohen, "My Israel", has expressed harsh criticism of Army Radio and its employees over the years, including calls for its closure; As early as 2011, the association conducted a campaign against the station, following which the station filed a complaint with the police against the association, alleging incitement against it and impersonating Galatz employees, in order to obtain information intended to harm the station.