Another loss for left-wing NGO Shakuf and Tomer Avital against Channel 14

Central Elections Committee Chairman Noam Solberg dismissed a petition by the left-wing NGO "Shakuf" and Tomer Avital, which sought to ban Channel 14 from broadcasting programs featuring candidates from Likud, Religious Zionism, and Otzma Yehudit. Solberg ruled that the petitioners have an alternative remedy with the Second Authority, and that their claims were not properly presented in the initial approach to the channel.

Central Elections Committee Chairman, Judge Noam Solberg, today (Wednesday) summarily dismissed a petition filed by the left-wing NGO "Shakuf – for the Preservation of Democracy" and Tomer Avital, which sought to ban Channel 14 from broadcasting current affairs and news programs featuring candidates for the Knesset from the Likud, Religious Zionism, and Otzma Yehudit lists. The petitioners argued that the channel serves as a propaganda platform for these lists, in violation of election law prohibiting the broadcast of election propaganda on television in the 60 days before the elections. In his decision, Solberg ruled that the petitioners have an alternative remedy with the Second Authority for Television and Radio, the body authorized to discuss the matter, and that their claims did not appear in the initial approach they sent to the channel before filing the petition. Therefore, the petition was dismissed summarily, without a discussion on the merits. Meanwhile, a more specific petition was filed against the channel alleging a violation of the duty of ideological diversity, and Solberg ordered Channel 14 to respond by this coming Friday.