[...]
The manner in which the outgoing council member saw fit to speak against me personally, and the manner in which I was attacked for voting last night [...] clarified to me the great tension that has been created and the irrelevant struggle that currently exists between the two councils in a way that makes it difficult for me to remain in the outgoing council in the existing atmosphere."
Later in her letter, D. announced"R. Vanig on her resignation from her position on the council "Outgoing" only. However, a few hours later, D. announced"R. Venig to the Minister of Communications for her resignation from her membership in the Council "Incoming".
- On the same day, June 1,2026, Prof. Caspi resigned from his position on the "outgoing" council only. Caspi also clarified in his message to the Minister of Communications that "the aforementioned does not constitute a resignation, a theoretical or practical waiver of my future appointment as a member of the new council [ the "incoming" council [...] and this after the legal impediment to convening it has been removed."
- Kedem Maktovi also chose to resign from her position on the "outgoing" council only. She did so in a letter dated June 1,2026, in which she clarified that "the aforementioned does not constitute a resignation, waiver or withdrawal from my appointment as a member of the [incoming council]."
- Two days later, on June 3,2026, Mr. Shimoni informed the Minister of Communications of his resignation from membership in the "outgoing" council only. Shimoni also clarified that his resignation does not apply to his tenure as a member of the "incoming" council ("For the avoidance of doubt, it should be clarified that the aforesaid does not constitute resignation, waiver or withdrawal from my future appointment as a member of the new council [ the "incoming" council [...] and this after the legal impediment to its convening has been removed").
- Earlier in the day, on June 3,2026, Dr. Wenig informed the Minister of Communications that she wanted to withdraw her resignation, because she claimed that she did not understand the public significance of the move.
- It should also be noted that in parallel with the resignation of the "outgoing" council members, the Minister of Communications began a hearing process for another "outgoing" council member , Ms. Bahloul, and asked to end her term as a council member due to a claim of a conflict of interest in accordance with sections 9(a)(7) and 10(c) of the law.
- Following the aforementioned developments, on June 3,2026, the Minister of Communications wrote a letter to the Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Communications and to the Legal Advisor to the Second Authority, in which he reported that he had received seven resignation letters on behalf of the members of the "outgoing" Council. The Minister added that although one of the members of the Council had asked to withdraw her resignation, he emphasized that "from the moment the resignation letter was delivered to the Minister, the resignation took effect, and there is no possibility of retracting it." In any event, the minister stated that the number of council members was less than the minimum number required by section 21 of the Second Authority Law, according to which at least two-thirds of the council members are required to serve - and hence the "outgoing" council no longer meets the qualifications and cannot convene or make decisions. The minister also insisted that in the given situation, the chairman of the "outgoing" council is prevented from exercising his various powers.
- Against the background of this development, various notices were submitted on behalf of the petitioners, in which it was claimed, inter alia, that the resignation of the "outgoing" council members stemmed from improper pressures exerted by the minister. It was further argued that this was an artificial move intended to thwart the interim decisions made in the proceeding, and in particular to prevent - in practice - the possibility that the "outgoing" council would be required to purchase a chain. The Attorney General also referred to the resignation of the "outgoing" council members, and claimed that this was a coordinated and organized move whose purpose was to nullify and thwart the interim decisions made in the proceeding. The Attorney General concludes this in light of a number of circumstances: the timing of the resignations and their proximity to our decision of May 15,2026; the Minister's response to our said decision; the proximity of the resignations themselves; the great similarity between the resignation letters; and the fact that most of the resignants resigned only from the "outgoing" council and not from the "incoming" council. Accordingly, we were asked by the petitioners and the advisor to issue a judicial order that would allow the continuation of the activity of the "outgoing" council even in the current number of members.
- Subsequently, in our decision of June 9,2026, we instructed the Minister of Communications and the "outgoing" council members - Dr. Raviv, Mr. Assi, Mr. Shimoni, Prof. Caspi, Ms. Kedem Maktovi and Dr. Wenig - to submit a supplementary argument supported by affidavits, in which they were required to address, inter alia, allegations regarding the involvement, whether directly or indirectly, of the minister or anyone on his behalf in the decision of the "outgoing" council members to resign.
- On June 14,2026, Dr. Venig, who is not represented in the proceeding, submitted an affidavit on her behalf. Due to the importance and uniqueness of the matter, I will bring significant parts of the affidavit:
"On May 28,2026, the Chief of Staff of the Minister of Communications, Mr. Elad Zamir, called me and suggested that I resign from the outgoing council. The conversation was conducted with a manipulative nuance in order to illustrate to me the feasibility of this resignation. I told him that I could not do this to Mordechai Mordechai, the chairman of the outgoing council, that he is a person whose judgment I appreciate and that if this council was asked to return, I would stay. He continued to coax me on this matter, with an emphasis on the fact that the minister was the one who extended my term. I felt uncomfortable and told him that I should consider this and that I would consult. He asked that the conversation remain between us. I promised that this would be the case [...] During the day, the conversation weighed on me, if only because if I cooperated and resigned following his request to me, it might send the wrong message and become a pattern or method for achieving goals later on. I decided to inform him that I would not resign, and so it was [...] On Sunday, May 31, I went up to vote by phone at a council meeting held by the outgoing council. A hostile WhatsApp message I received from one of the meeting participants left me with a particularly bad taste. The next day I spoke with two members of the outgoing and incoming councils. These conversations left me with another taste of unpleasantness and unrest. Since I felt that the two councils were currently tainted by emotions that were irrelevant, I decided, for the sake of my peace of mind, to resign from both councils. A day later, I learned of the extent of the resignation of the councillors who serve on the two councils who, at a strange timing, had resigned one after the other from the outgoing council [...] I felt bad that I might have become part of a plan to oust the outgoing council against my will and that at the moment, due to the timing, my resignation is playing into their hands and making me part of a conspiracy in which I do not want, to say the least, to take part in it. In fact, I was shocked at the thought of the possibility that I would be part of it. I called Mordechai Mordechai and asked him to retract my resignation, he said he would look into it. The next day, he got back to me and I was asked to write my request (which was submitted ina criminal appeal a day later) to withdraw my resignation [...]