KAN are not the enemy: Ministers acting against Israel’s democratic character

These initiatives illustrate how some ministers have forgotten what is supposed to happen in a democracy – ideas are not meant to be controlled.

By YAAKOV KATZ DECEMBER 20, 2024 08:23

TRANSPORTATION MINISTER Miri Regev once stated: 'What is a public broadcaster worht if we cannot control it?' (photo credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

It is as if government ministers forgot who the real enemy is based on some of their recent actions. It is as if their greatest adversary is not the terrorist organization Hamas or Iran but rather Israel’s democratic character.

Here are just a handful of recent examples: At the end of November, a bill to stop government funding of the state’s KAN public broadcaster passed a preliminary reading in the Knesset. On Sunday, during the weekly cabinet meeting, ministers approved the allocation of NIS 2 million to Deputy Minister Avi Maoz’s “education transparency system,” which is meant to regulate what content schools can offer their students.

And then there is Culture Minister Miki Zohar, who asked the Finance Ministry this week to stop funding to the Tel Aviv Cinematheque for showing some films last weekend that he claimed were “extremist” and opposed the State of Israel. He also asked to stop funding for Tel Aviv’s renowned Batsheva Dance Company after a recent performance included the waving of three Palestinian flags.

All of this comes on the heels of the government’s decision to sanction Haaretz and stop all state advertising in the newspaper due to the genuinely inexcusable remarks by the paper’s publisher at a conference in London.

It is legitimate to believe that a government should not fund activities that it believes undermine the state, but this is more than just about money; it is a deliberate attempt by government ministers to silence dissenting opinions and ideas.

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar attends a Knesset session, March 6, 2023. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

If a dance company dares to display a Palestinian flag during a performance, the solution is simple: cut off funding. If a public broadcaster cannot be controlled, shut it down. If a newspaper publisher makes remarks that are perceived as objectionable, boycott it. The logic is disturbingly clear.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev gave insight into this mindset a few years ago when, during a ministerial meeting, she asked: “What value is there to a public broadcaster if we cannot control it?” To Regev and current Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, the creation of quality content is irrelevant. What truly matters is the power to control ideas. If they cannot control the messages being broadcasted, then the broadcaster itself loses its value.

What Maoz is trying to do is even more troubling. He wants to control what schools or regional councils are able to teach children. A known and vocal opponent of LGBT rights, Maoz has already openly declared what he wants to do.

In 2021, his Noam party said that it will amend a government decision to increase the participation of women in the workplace. Such moves, he said, needed to be overturned to “prevent foreign anti-Israeli actors from infiltrating Israel’s public systems.”

Control over ideas

THIS IS not just about control over money. It is about control over ideas, although only ideas that this government does not like. Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) ideas and calls not to serve in the IDF are legitimate, and the rabbis who openly order their students not to serve in the military and not to integrate into Israeli society can continue.

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Those rabbis and their institutions can keep receiving hundreds of millions of shekels, even though they are actively undermining the nation’s security in a way that is far more dangerous than any number of flags Batsheva dancers might wave during a performance.

And then there is, of course, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, whose obsessive campaign to dismantle Israel’s judicial independence takes the form of a continued effort to undermine any form of independent thinking within the justice system. If he or the government cannot control the appointment of Supreme Court justices, then they will simply not be appointed as he refuses to do it.

Now, with the court having ordered him to reconvene the Judicial Selection Committee, Levin has announced plans to revive the judicial overhaul of 2023 – a plan that divided the nation, weakened the state, and played a direct role in the tragic events of October 7.A war still ongoing in Gaza? Who cares? A hundred hostages still held by Hamas? Not of importance. All Levin cares about is the control he can obtain.

Crazy would be an easy way to explain what is happening, but dangerous is more accurate. We already saw what happened the last time Levin tried to bulldoze his controversial legislation through the Knesset against the will of most of the people and while refusing to compromise.

In what world does it make sense to do this again at a time when our soldiers are still fighting? When many of our sons are still behind enemy lines?

None of this should be happening right now – not the judicial overhaul, the closure of KAN, the cancellation of funding to Batsheva and the cinematheque, or the establishment of Maoz’s education watchdog.

The reason it all is, though, is because the government wants to continue deflecting criticism from itself. It refuses to investigate the failures that led to October 7 and be held accountable. As one Likud lawmaker said this week – “A state commission of inquiry? Forget about it. It will not happen.”

In other words, what these ministers do is beyond any criticism or accountability. They believe that they have immunity and protection. The fact that these initiatives are moving forward during a time of war is deeply worrying. But in today’s Israel, it is not enough to be concerned.

These initiatives illustrate how some ministers have forgotten what is supposed to happen in a democracy – ideas are not meant to be controlled. They are meant to be nurtured and allowed to flourish. And always remember one important part of this – today it is “their” ideas that the government wants to stifle; tomorrow it may be “yours.”

The writer is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and a former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.