The radical left-wing organization Zulat announced today (Thursday) that it is celebrating the opening of a preliminary review process against Channel 14. According to the group, the process was launched following last week’s interview with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the program “The Patriots.” Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi sharply attacked the organization, writing: “Fascists. It won’t help you. A little light dispels much darkness.”
3+In the post, the institute—headed by former Meretz chairwoman Zahava Galon—claimed that the Second Authority notified Central Elections Committee Chairman Judge Noam Solberg about opening the process. Zulat didn’t stop at examining the interview’s content, but attacked Channel 14’s very status as a media outlet: “Channel 14 is not a news channel but a governmental party propaganda channel.”
The process Zulat reported on is a preliminary regulatory procedure. It is not a determination that the channel violated the law or its license terms. According to reports, the channel will be given the opportunity to present its arguments before any decision is made about imposing any sanction. The process relates, among other things, to the claim that Netanyahu called during the interview to vote for Machal.
3+But Zulat rushed to present the very opening of the review as an achievement in its battle against the channel. The organization gave the image attached to the post the headline “Injunction Against the Propaganda Channel,” even though no such injunction was issued and no decision was made on the petition.
The organization also made clear that the purpose of its appeal is not just to enforce election laws. According to Zulat, it appealed with “The Movement for Fair Regulation,” through attorney Yifat Solel, demanding “to stop the platform given at public expense and in violation of the law’s rules, only to one side of the political map.” In other words, the demand is not to provide an additional platform for other positions, but to reduce the platform given in the channel to right-wing figures.
The Previous Petition Was Already Rejected
The current campaign comes just days after Judge Solberg dismissed out of hand a separate petition that sought to ban Channel 14 from broadcasting news and current affairs programs with candidates from Likud, Religious Zionism, and Otzma Yehudit. In that decision, it was determined that the Elections Committee is not the appropriate body for the sweeping request that was submitted.
3+Now Zulat is trying to advance another track against the channel through the Second Authority. But this time too, as of now, there is no determination that the channel violated the law and no decision to impose any sanction on it. There is only a review process. Despite this, the left-wing organization is already waving its very existence as proof of its claims and demanding to stop the platform.
Not an Isolated Incident: Golan Threatens to Close the Channel
Zulat’s post fits into a line being advanced by other elements on the left against Channel 14. Democratic Party chairman Yair Golan declared in a January interview on Ynet’s “120 and One” podcast: “When we come to power we will close this channel.” Golan called Channel 14 a “propaganda channel” and claimed it is not a media outlet.
Golan later qualified his remarks but did not retract the threat. In response to the “Davar” website, he said: “When we return to power, we will return this channel to accepted journalistic standards, and if it refuses to do so—it will be closed.” In doing so, he left in the hands of the future government he seeks to form the authority to determine whether a media channel meets “accepted standards”—and if not, to bring about its closure.
3+The statement drew criticism even within the anti-Netanyahu camp. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said: “What do you mean you’ll close Channel 14? I won’t let that happen. I will navigate as prime minister, and I will prevent harm to media outlets even if they don’t find favor in my eyes and attack me. We are a democracy.”
The similarity in phrasing is striking. Golan determined that Channel 14 is a “propaganda channel” and not a media outlet, and now Zulat declares that it is a “governmental party propaganda channel.” The current post does not stand alone. It joins an ongoing political and public effort to deny the channel’s legitimacy, limit its broadcasts, and, in the scenario declared by the Democrats’ chairman, even close it down.