High Court annuls government decision to close Army Radio
Israel’s High Court of Justice has unanimously overturned the government’s decision to close Army Radio, ruling that it was driven by an “improper motive” to interfere with the station’s editorial content.
The three-judge panel accepted petitions against the cabinet’s December decision, making permanent the court’s February provisional order blocking the closure.
In separate opinions, judges Daphne Barak-Erez, Alex Stein and Yechiel Kasher said closing the 76-year-old station is not inherently illegitimate, but evidence showed the government sought to penalize it for coverage viewed as critical.
Kasher wrote that “it’s unconscionable” for those in power to shut off a broadcaster’s microphone because they dislike its words, calling such a government “distinctly undemocratic.”
Stein criticized claims that closing the station itself would violate freedom of expression, but said the government clearly acted improperly to interfere with its coverage. He cited a memo from Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to Defense Minister Israel Katz criticizing Army Radio for exposing soldiers to content that “not only doesn’t support them, but sometimes harshly criticizes their actions.”
Barak-Erez said the decision was also procedurally flawed because of a “lack of evidentiary basis” for claims that Army Radio is biased, along with the “bias” of relevant ministers and committee members. Officials may have prior opinions, she said, but not “locked” prejudice that makes the decision-making process an “empty sham.”
