Likud’s broadcasting bill passes first Knesset vote

The communications (broadcasting) bill, an effort to reform Israel’s communications landscape and open it up to greater competition, passed its first vote in the Knesset overnight on Monday by a margin of 54-47.

“Despite the opposition of the tycoons and the tsunami of fake news, the winners are the consumers, who will gain more channels, more opinions and with less money,” said Knesset member Shlomo Karhi, Israel’s Minister of Communications, who introduced the bill, hailing the passage of its first reading.

He called the bill’s reforms “a historic revolution for freedom of opinion and consumer choice,” and criticized Gali Baharav-Miara, the attorney general, and others seeking to control the “marketplace of opinions.”

Baharav-Miara had said the bill “endangers the image of the free me