The IPI global network expresses concern about two new bills that have passed first reading in the Israeli parliament that would have sweeping implications for press freedom in the country. Adoption of a new media regulation bill and the so-called “Al Jazeera Law” would drastically impede the operations of both domestic and international news outlets in Israel.
On November 4, a bill proposed by Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi that would reshape the environment for media in Israel cleared the first of three legislative hurdles in the Knesset. The legislation would establish a new regulatory body, known as the Council for the Regulation of Audio-Visual Content, which would centralize oversight of cable, satellite, TV and radio broadcasting. The majority of the council’s members would be chosen by the communications minister.
If passed, the law would require all news content providers, including television channels, news websites, and streaming websites to register with the government, and grant the council sweeping powers to cancel registrations or impose fines on media outlets for violations of the new regulations.
The law would also remove the long-standing requirement that broadcast media companies be legally independent, separate entities from the commercial television channels that carry their content, opening the door for corporate or political interference. When the bill was first introduced in May 2025, Israel’s attorney general warned the law raises “real concern of serious harm to freedom of expression and the press.”
On November 10, the Knesset voted to move forward on a second media bill, nicknamed the “Al Jazeera Law,” that would expand and make permanent a temporary order giving the Israeli government unilateral power to close foreign media outlets deemed to be threats to national security. The temporary law, passed in May 2024, served as the legal underpinning for Israel’s closure of Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem offices that same month. In September 2024, the Israeli military raided and shuttered Al Jazeera’s West Bank bureau.
The law on foreign media outlets would also expand the communications minister’s authority, allowing Karhi to direct internet platforms, content distributors, and Israel’s defense minister to block, remove or disrupt content deemed harmful to Israel’s national security. Legal advisers to the Knesset warned the new law – which allows the communications minister to close outlets without judicial approval – may be unconstitutional.
Both bills must pass two more readings in the Knesset before becoming law.
“IPI is deeply concerned about the message sent by both of these legislative proposals,” said IPI Executive Director Scott Griffen. “These bills clearly reflect a wider effort on the part of Israeli authorities to control the flow of information, imperiling the Israeli people’s right to access a diverse array of news sources.”
“A free, independent, critical media is a necessary element to any healthy democracy. These laws would open the door to political interference in the media in Israel and would enshrine into law the violations of press freedom that occurred during the Israel-Hamas war. IPI urges lawmakers to reject any attempts to move these bills forward.”