United Torah Judaism chair Yitzhak Goldknopf announces that the ultra-Orthodox party will oppose Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s controversial media overhaul unless a proposed state-funded app created under the legislation is barred from operating on Shabbat and the law fully bans sexual or “harmful” content, potentially depriving the coalition of the votes needed to advance the legislation.
“It is inconceivable that the State of Israel would establish, fund, and operate with public money a government broadcasting app active on the holy Sabbath,” he says, addressing the Knesset panel established to deliberate the legislation today.
The controversial legislation, which would give the government significant control over broadcast media, news sites, and other media, includes an initiative for a state-funded app to distribute content, including news, with the stated goal of making it more widely accessible.
Goldknopf says that his party will not support the legislation unless there is a complete prohibition on content distributed by the app on Shabbat or Jewish holidays, arguing that “partial measures aren’t enough. Any shift in this direction is a violation of the status quo that has been in place since the founding of the state.”
He also demands that the law fully prohibit broadcasting of sexual, pornographic, violent, or proselytizing content on the app to “protect our children and preserve the Jewish character of the state.”
The party leader calls on committee members to support his reservations to “ensure that the law does not become a tool for expanding Sabbath desecration or a government platform that exposes children and teenagers to content that should not reach them.”
The legislation already contains prohibitions on sexual and violent content, but the committee has moved to restore an exemption for content with artistic, scientific, educational, or informational value. Karhi last week removed the exemption at the request of the Haredi parties, but opposition lawmakers and the committee’s legal advisers warned that the broader ban could infringe on freedom of expression.
The bill passed its first reading in the Knesset in January and was split into separate bills earlier this month to accelerate its passage, a move that nearly failed due to opposition from the Haredi parties. It requires two more votes before it can become law.