A religious right-wing television network was ordered on Tuesday to pay compensation to Reform and Orthodox Jewish groups after a court accepted their claim that the channel systematically discriminated against them in breach of its broadcasting license .
Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge Elad Lang in 2018 fully accepted the lawsuit filed against Channel 14 (then named Channel 20) by the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism and the Masorti Movement in Israel – a Reform group, respectively and a conservative group.
The ruling orders Channel 14 to pay some NIS 160,000 ($46,000) to the two groups, including court and attorney costs. The network has vowed to appeal the decision, arguing that it asserts freedom of speech.
The network was formed in 2014 as a network dedicated to Jewish tradition and called Channel 20, and in subsequent years received several fines over news broadcasts that violated its license. That license was expanded in 2018 using legislation that prevented it from shutting down and allowed it — and other smaller networks — to freely broadcast news as long as at least 51 percent of its airtime was spent on its original network. Be dedicated to the cause.
The network launched a main evening newscast in March 2018, a right-wing alternative to the three main Israeli newscasts on commercial channels 12 and 13 and on the Kan public broadcaster. The network was re-branded as Channel 14 in 2021 and its political news content is often aligned with the views and interests of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In the lawsuit, progressive Jewish groups argued that Channel 14 had systematically refused to voice their opinions and included them in statements or broadcasts as panelists or interviewers. He attached a phone call transcript with a Channel 14 editor who bluntly stated that the network was “affiliated with the conservative stream” and expressed doubt that its decision-makers would be “tolerant of the Masorti movement”.
Reform and Orthodox Jewish leaders at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 2016. (Courtesy of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism)
In her ruling Tuesday, Judge Lange cited the network’s broadcast license, which mandates it to “demonstrate pluralism and give reasonable representation to religious beliefs along the religious-secular spectrum,” which includes “groups that differ from the conservative majority.” Voice” included. Israel.
Lang rejected the network’s argument that its decision-making is based on commercial-financial considerations and that its viewership is predominantly conservative and reluctant to view “controversial” material. He said the channel’s license clearly mandated it to give airtime only to those who held “contrary views”.
The judge stated that the channel’s obligation to broadcast non-Orthodox voices was a product of its definition as a publicly funded network broadcasting Jewish tradition to the entire public in Israel and abroad, “whereas it is clear that Not all of its viewership necessarily harbors the same conservative views held by Respondent.
“Plaintiff has established that Defendant has acted in a discriminatory manner by refraining from including material and interviewees relevant to Plaintiff’s worldview in the Channel’s broadcasts, despite requests having been made in large numbers during the time relevant to the Litigation” ,” he concluded.
The current court case is not the first time the network has been judged to have discriminated against Reform and Orthodox Jewish groups. In 2017, the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council fined the network NIS 100,000 ($28,000) for refusing to host representatives of those sects on its programs.
An appeal to the Jerusalem District Court was dismissed.
Then-opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a conference organized by Channel 14 in Jerusalem on October 23, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Commenting on Tuesday’s decision, Channel 14 said it would also appeal the current decision, proud of its refusal to reach an agreement that would have included “a promise of dedicated positive coverage and airtime to left-wing reform groups”.
“This is a pathetic interference in the freedom of expression,” it said in a statement. “These are dark days for a democratic country with a court directing journalists what, when and how to cover [the news] use of fines.
Reform rabbi, Labor MK Gilad Kariv said that the court’s ruling “sends a clear message of equality, pluralism and religious tolerance,” adding that “debate and disagreement are an integral part of the Jewish tradition, but discrimination and marginalization Can’t be a part of us.” Reality in a Jewish and democratic state.
