Israeli Public Broadcasting Law, 5774-2014
חוק השידור הציבורי הישראלי, תשע"ד-2014
Published: 2014-08-11Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2018-07-26 · Last amended 2026-07-28✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-28
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More
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Chapter IV: The Search Committee
Appointment of the Search Committee and Its Function§
29.
(a)A Search Committee shall be appointed whose function is to identify and propose to the Minister suitable candidates for the Council of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.
(b)The Search Committee shall consist of three members, as follows:
(1)a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a District Court, to be appointed by the Minister in consultation with the President of the Supreme Court, and he or she shall be the chairperson;
(2)a public representative with standing and expertise in the field of communications, written or broadcast, or in the field of television, film or musical creation, to be appointed by the chairperson of the Search Committee;
(3)a public representative with standing and expertise in the fields of economics or management, to be appointed by the chairperson of the Search Committee.
(c)A person who has been convicted of an offence that, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders him or her unfit to serve on the committee, or against whom an indictment has been filed for such an offence and no final judgment has yet been given in his or her matter, shall not be appointed as a member of the Search Committee.
(d)A person who is likely to find himself or herself, directly or indirectly, on a frequent basis, in a situation of conflict of interests between his or her function as a member of the Search Committee and a personal interest of his or her own or another function of his or her own, shall not be appointed as a member of the Search Committee and shall not serve thereon; in this section, "personal interest" – including a personal interest of his or her relative, agent or partner, or an interest of a body in which any of them has a share in the share capital, a right to receive profits, a right to appoint a director or a voting right.
(e)For the purpose of appointing the members of the Search Committee referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b), the chairperson of the committee shall publish a public notice stating that any person who meets the eligibility conditions referred to in those paragraphs is entitled to put forward his or her candidacy to serve on the Search Committee, all in accordance with the particulars specified in the notice, and the chairperson of the committee may, on his or her own initiative, approach candidates who meet the said eligibility conditions referred to in those paragraphs and invite them to submit their candidacy.
(f)A member of the Search Committee shall be appointed with the approval of the appointments review committee as defined in the Government Companies Law.
Prohibition of Affiliation – Member of the Search Committee§
30.
A person who has a personal or business affiliation with any Minister of the Government, a person who is engaged in political activity or party activity, or a person who was engaged in political activity or party activity in the five years preceding the date of submission of candidacy, shall not be appointed as a member of the Search Committee and shall not serve thereon; for this purpose, participation in a demonstration or assembly of a political character, or the public expression of positions on political matters, shall not in themselves be considered political activity.
Work of the Search Committee§
31.
(a)The Search Committee shall recommend to the Minister 12 candidates to serve as members of the Council, including one candidate to serve as chairperson of the Council.
(b)For the purpose of identifying candidates under the provisions of this section, the Search Committee shall publish a public notice stating that any person who meets the eligibility conditions referred to in section 9 is entitled to put forward his or her candidacy to serve as a member of the Council or as chairperson of the Council, as the case may be, all in accordance with the conditions specified in the notice, and the Search Committee may, on its own initiative, approach candidates who meet the eligibility conditions referred to in section 9 and invite them to submit their candidacy.
(c)The Search Committee shall make available to the public the main points of the deliberations and its decisions under this section.
Working Procedures of the Search Committee§
32.
(a)Decisions of the Search Committee shall be adopted by a majority of votes of the members of the committee.
(b)The Search Committee shall determine its own working methods and deliberation procedures, insofar as these have not been prescribed under this Law.
Term of Office of a Member of the Search Committee§
33.
A member of the Search Committee shall be appointed for a period of four years, provided, however, that –
(1)the Minister may extend the term of office of the chairperson of the committee until the completion of the appointment proceedings for a chairperson in his or her place;
(2)the chairperson of the committee may extend the term of office of the committee member referred to in section 29(b)(2) or (3) until the completion of the appointment proceedings for a committee member in his or her place.
Cessation of Office of a Member of the Search Committee§
34.
(a)A member of the Search Committee, other than the chairperson of the committee, shall cease to serve before the expiry of his or her term of office in any of the following cases:
(1)he or she resigned by delivering a letter of resignation to the chairperson of the Search Committee;
(2)the chairperson of the Search Committee has become convinced that he or she is permanently unable to perform his or her function; upon the chairperson becoming so convinced, he or she shall remove the committee member from office by written notice;
(3)he or she is not properly performing his or her function, and the chairperson of the Search Committee has delivered to him or her a written reasoned notice of removal from office as aforesaid;
(4)he or she has been convicted of an offence that, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders him or her unfit to serve as a member of the committee, or an indictment has been filed against him or her for such an offence and no final judgment has yet been given in his or her matter.
(b)The chairperson of the Search Committee shall cease to serve before the expiry of his or her term of office in any of the following cases:
(1)he or she resigned by delivering a letter of resignation to the Minister;
(2)the Minister, in consultation with the President of the Supreme Court, has become convinced that he or she is permanently unable to perform his or her function; upon the Minister becoming so convinced, he or she shall remove the chairperson of the committee from office by written notice;
(3)he or she is not properly performing his or her function, and the Minister, in consultation with the President of the Supreme Court, has removed him or her from office by written notice;
(4)he or she has been convicted of an offence that, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders him or her unfit to serve as chairperson of the Search Committee, or an indictment has been filed against him or her for such an offence and no final judgment has yet been given in his or her matter.
(c)If a member of the Search Committee ceases to serve, the chairperson of the committee shall act to appoint another member in his or her place in accordance with the provisions of section 29, as soon as possible, and if the chairperson of the committee ceases to serve – the Minister shall act as aforesaid to appoint another chairperson in his or her place, as soon as possible and no later than three months after he or she ceased to serve.
(d)If the Minister or the chairperson of the committee, as the case may be, becomes convinced that the chairperson of the Search Committee or a member of the Search Committee is temporarily unable to perform his or her function, for a period that lasts or is likely to last more than six months, the Minister or the chairperson of the committee, as the case may be, may appoint a substitute for him or her in accordance with the provisions of section 29.
Validity of Actions of the Search Committee§
35.
The existence of the Search Committee, its powers and the validity of its actions shall not be affected by reason of a defect in the appointment or the continuation of service of one of its members, provided that two committee members are serving thereon.
Payment to Members of the Search Committee§
36.
A member of the Search Committee who is not an employee of a budgeted body or an employee of a supported body shall be entitled to payment from the Ministry of Communications for participation in meetings of the Search Committee, in accordance with the instructions laid down by the Accountant General in the Ministry of Finance with respect to members of public committees; in this section, "employee of a budgeted body" and "employee of a supported body" – as defined in section 32 of the Budget Foundations Law.
The Search Committee – an Audited Body§
37.
The Search Committee is an audited body within the meaning of the State Comptroller Law, 5718-1958 [Consolidated Version].
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Contact Us →Chapter V: Director General of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation
Director General of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation§
38.
(a)The Council shall appoint a Director General for the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation who holds an academic degree, and also has at least five years of experience in one of the following or at least five cumulative years of experience in both of the following:
(1)a senior position in the field of business management of a corporation with a significant business scope;
(2)a senior managerial position in a significant organisation with standing in the field of communications.
(b)The candidates for the position of Director General of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall be selected by a committee whose members are as detailed below (in this section – the Director General selection committee):
(1)the chairperson of the Council, who shall be the chairperson of the committee;
(2)two members of the Council to be chosen by the Council.
(c)The Director General selection committee shall identify candidates for the position of Director General, including by way of publishing a public notice; the Director General shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) from among the candidates proposed by the Director General selection committee.
(d)The provisions of section 60a of the Government Companies Law shall apply to the appointment of the Director General, with these modifications:
(1)instead of the provisions of section 37(c) of that Law, the provisions of subsection (a) shall apply;
(2)a person who has been convicted of an offence that, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders him or her unfit to serve as Director General shall not be appointed, and the provisions of section 17(a)(5) of the Government Companies Law shall not apply.
Prohibition of Affiliation – the Director General§
39.
A person who has a personal or business affiliation with any Minister of the Government, a person who is engaged in political activity or party activity, or a person who was engaged in political activity or party activity in the five years preceding the date of submission of candidacy, shall not be appointed as Director General and shall not serve in that position; for this purpose, participation in a demonstration or assembly of a political character, or the public expression of positions on political matters, shall not in themselves be considered political activity.
Term of Office of the Director General and Removal from Office§
40.
(a)The Director General shall be appointed for a period of four years, and his or her term of office may be extended for one additional term of office only.
(b)The Director General shall cease to serve before the expiry of his or her term of office in any of the following cases:
(1)he or she resigned by delivering a letter of resignation to the chairperson of the Council;
(2)the Council has determined that he or she is permanently unable to perform his or her function;
(3)the Council has determined by a majority of its serving members that he or she is not properly performing his or her function;
(4)the Council has determined that one of the circumstances that disqualify a person under law from serving as Director General has arisen in his or her regard;
(5)he or she has been convicted of an offence that, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders him or her unfit to serve as Director General;
(6)the Council has determined that the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation has not fulfilled its obligations under section 64;
(7)the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation has exceeded the approved manpower ceiling in accordance with the provisions of section 11(5), according to the Director General's notice or the decision of the Minister of Finance as referred to in section 81(h);
(8)the Minister of Finance or the Supervisor of Wages and Labour Agreements in the Ministry of Finance has found that the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation has agreed to changes in wages, retirement conditions or emoluments, or to financial benefits connected to employment, contrary to the provisions of section 29(a) of the Budget Foundations Law, unless the Council has found that the Director General took all required steps to avoid the said changes or benefits;
(9)it has been found in the financial statements of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation approved by the Council in a particular year that there is an excess of liabilities over assets or that during the period of the report there is an excess of expenditure over income (in this paragraph – a deficit), unless the deficit was balanced in the course of the two subsequent quarters, and also that in the financial statements brought for the approval of the Council in the year preceding that year there was no deficit.
(c)If the Director General ceases to serve, the Council shall appoint another Director General in his or her place, within 60 days, in accordance with the provisions of section 38.
Suspension from Office of the Director General§
41.
Where an indictment has been filed against the Director General for an offence as referred to in section 40(b)(5), the Council shall suspend him from his position until a final judgment is given in his matter.
Appointment of Acting Director General§
42.
(a)Where the position of the Director General has become vacant and no other person has yet been appointed in his place, or where the Council has decided that the Director General is temporarily unable to fulfil his duties, it shall appoint an acting Director General for a period not exceeding three months, and may extend that period by one additional period not exceeding three months; where the period during which the Director General is unable to fulfil his duties has lasted, or is likely to last, more than six months, the Council may appoint an acting Director General in accordance with the provisions of section 38.
(b)Where the Director General has been suspended from office pursuant to the provisions of section 41, the Council shall appoint an acting Director General in accordance with the provisions of section 38, for the duration of the suspension period.
Functions of the Director General§
43.
The functions of the Director General are:
(1)to be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation in accordance with the decisions and guidelines of the Council;
(2)to serve as the editor-in-chief of the broadcasts and to submit the broadcast schedules for approval by the Council; in performing his function under this paragraph, the Director General shall act independently;
(3)to prepare a balanced budget proposal for the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation for each financial year, to bring it before the Council at least 60 days before the end of the year, and to be responsible for the implementation of the said budget after its approval;
(4)to submit for approval by the Council, each year, together with the budget proposal referred to in paragraph (3), an annual work plan that includes, inter alia, the targets of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation for the coming year, the actions planned to be taken by the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation to achieve the said targets, and the means of financing the plan;
(5)to submit to the Council, at least once every six months, a report detailing the activities of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation during the period to which the report relates, and addressing the realisation of the targets defined in the annual work plan during the said period.
Powers of the Director General§
44.
The Director General shall have all powers necessary for the day-to-day management of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation that are not vested in another person under this Law, including –
(1)representing the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation in all of its functions and signing documents and transactions on its behalf, subject to the provisions of section 11(10);
(2)employing staff in the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation in accordance with the provisions of section 52, subject to the staffing ceiling approved by the Council under section 11(5).
Duty of Reporting§
45.
(a)The Director General shall notify the Chairperson of the Council, without delay, of any material matter in the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation that relates to the functions of the Council; where the matter deviates or is likely to deviate from a determination of the Council made pursuant to its authority, the Chairperson of the Council shall, without delay, convene a meeting of the Council and bring the notification before it.
(b)The Director General shall submit to the Council a report on the ongoing activities of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation at such times as the Council has determined for that purpose.
Prohibition on the Director General's Participation in Broadcasts§
46.
The Director General shall not participate in broadcasts.
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