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
Premium
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
This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.
Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.
The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.
This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.
Chapter VI: Head of the News Division
Head of the News Division§
47.
(a)The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall have a head of the news division; a person with experience in the field of journalism shall be appointed as head of the news division for a term of four years, and his term may be extended by one additional term.
(b)The provisions of section 52(b)(1) shall apply in respect of the head of the news division; however, his appointment and removal from office shall require the approval of a majority of the serving members of the Council.
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 43(2), in respect of news broadcasts and current affairs programmes within the budget of the news division, the head of the news division shall be the editor-in-chief; in performing this function, the head of the news division shall act independently.
Prohibition of Connection – Head of the News Division§
48.
A person shall not be appointed as, and shall not serve as, head of a news division if he has a personal or business connection to a Minister of the Government, a person engaged in political activity or party activity, or a person who has been engaged in political activity or party activity in the past five years; for this purpose, participation in a demonstration or gathering of a political character, or public expression of a position on political matters, shall not, in itself, be regarded as political activity.
Need to cite this law in a foreign court?
Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.
Contact Us →Chapter VII: Holders of Special Positions
Auditor§
49.
(a)The Government Companies Authority shall appoint an auditor for the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation who shall audit its financial statements and express an opinion thereon (in this section – an audit act); the provisions under section 44 of the Government Companies Law shall apply to the appointment of the auditor and to his remuneration, with the necessary modifications.
(b)The auditor may at any time inspect the documents of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation required for the performance of his duties and obtain explanations in relation thereto.
(c)The auditor shall participate in every meeting of the Council that deliberates on the financial statements in respect of which he has performed audit acts, or in a meeting of the Council convened pursuant to subsection (f).
(d)The provisions of section 45 of the Government Companies Law and the provisions of sections 160 and 161 of the Companies Law shall apply to the auditor, with the necessary modifications.
(e)Where the auditor becomes aware, in the course of an audit act, of material deficiencies in the accounting controls of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, he shall report thereon to the Minister, to the Chairperson of the Council, and to the Government Companies Authority.
(f)Where the auditor has notified deficiencies as referred to in subsection (e), the Chairperson of the Council shall, without delay, convene a Council meeting to deliberate on the matters brought to his attention.
(g)The auditor is responsible towards the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation and the Government Companies Authority for the contents of his opinion regarding the financial statements.
(h)Nothing in the provisions of subsection (g) shall derogate from the liability of the auditor under any law.
Legal Counsel§
50.
(a)The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall have a legal counsel.
(b)The legal counsel shall be an employee of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation and shall be appointed for a period of seven years only.
(c)The termination of the legal counsel's tenure before the end of his term of office shall require the consent of the Attorney General.
Internal Auditor§
51.
(a)The internal auditor of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall be an employee of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation and shall be appointed for a period of seven years only.
(b)The provisions of the Internal Audit Law, 5752-1992 (in this section – the Internal Audit Law), shall apply with the following modifications:
(1)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 5(d) of the Internal Audit Law, the Chairperson of the Council shall be the supervisor of the internal auditor;
(2)Without derogating from the provisions of section 6 of the Internal Audit Law, the internal auditor shall submit a report on his findings to the Council and to the Audit Committee, including an annual report;
(3)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 7(a) of the Internal Audit Law, the internal auditor shall submit to the Audit Committee a proposed annual or periodic work plan, prepared in consultation with the Director General, for the purpose of its examination under section 22(b)(3), and the provisions of sections 22(b)(3) and 11(11) shall apply;
(4)Without derogating from the provisions of section 7(b) of the Internal Audit Law, the Audit Committee may, having regard to the approved work plans, assign to the internal auditor additional internal audit tasks beyond those set out in the work plan.
Need to cite this law in a foreign court?
Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.
Contact Us →Chapter VIII: Employees of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation
Employment of Staff§
52.
(a)The engagement of a person for employment in the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall be conducted by tender.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) –
(1)an office holder shall be selected through a candidate search committee procedure, with the approval of the Council; the members of the committee shall be the Director General and two office holders who are not members of the Council, to be selected by the Director General;
(2)the tender requirement shall not apply to positions of journalist, news editor or programme presenter in the news division; the Council shall determine, by reasoned decision, rules regarding the said positions and the maximum number of employees in respect of whom the tender requirement shall not apply, subject to conditions it shall determine; the engagement of a person for such a position shall be carried out by the head of the news division with the approval of the Director General, on the basis of professional considerations and within the budget allocated for that purpose to the news division; the wage cost for an employee in such a position shall not exceed an amount decided upon by the Council, unless approved by the sub-committee for engagements appointed under section 21;
(3)In addition to the provisions of paragraph (2), the Council may determine, by reasoned decision, rules regarding positions and categories of positions in respect of which the tender requirement shall not apply, subject to conditions it shall determine; the rules shall be determined, as far as possible, in accordance with the practice in the State Service.
(c)
(1)The Council shall publish, by notice in Reshumot (Official Gazette), the positions and categories of positions that it has determined under subsection (b) shall not be subject to the tender requirement;
(2)Notice of a candidate search for positions not subject to the tender requirement shall be published on the website of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation a reasonable time in advance.
Engagement for Limited Periods or for Special Assignments§
53.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation may engage, without a tender, for limited periods or for specific assignments, with any person, if there exists, in the circumstances of the matter, special justification for the engagement in the field of content and creation, having regard to the special qualifications of that person; the Council shall determine rules in respect of this section, including in respect of types of engagement and methods for identifying candidates.
Adequate Representation among Employees of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation§
54.
The provisions of section 15a(a) to (c) and (g) to (i) of the State Service (Appointments) Law, 5719-1959, shall apply to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, with the necessary modifications and with the following modifications:
(1)In every place, instead of "in the State Service" read "in the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation";
(2)In subsection (b) –
(a)in the opening clause, instead of "the Government shall act" read "the Director General shall act" and after "as determined" read "by the Council in rules";
(b)in paragraph (1), instead of the opening clause up to the word "shall take" read "the Director General shall take";
(c)in paragraph (2), instead of "the Government may" read "the Director General may" and instead of "as determined by the Government" read "as determined by the Council in rules";
(d)in paragraph (3), instead of "the Government may direct," read "the Council shall determine rules" and instead of "the Government may" read "the Council may";
(3)In subsection (g), instead of "the Civil Service Commissioner" read "the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation" and instead of "and to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset" read "and to the Economics Committee of the Knesset".
Supervisor for the Status of Women§
55.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall have a supervisor for the status of women, and she may fulfil this role in addition to any other role in the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation; the supervisor for the status of women shall be directly subordinate to the Director General in all matters relating to this role.
Status of Employees of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation§
56.
Employees of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall have the same status as State employees for the purposes of the following enactments:
(1)State Service (Restriction of Party Activity and Collection of Funds) Law, 5719-1959;
(2)Public Service (Gifts) Law, 5740-1979;
(3)Knesset Elections Law [Consolidated Version], 5729-1969;
(4)Penal Law, 5737-1977 – provisions relating to public employees;
(5)Public Service (Restrictions after Retirement) Law, 5729-1969;
(6)Evidence Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971;
(7)State Service (Discipline) Law, 5723-1963, with such modifications as the Minister shall determine with the consent of the Minister of Justice.
Need to cite this law in a foreign court?
Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.
Contact Us →Chapter IX: Duty of Care and Duty of Loyalty of an Office Holder
Duty of Care§
57.
(a)An office holder in the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation owes the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation a duty of care as referred to in sections 35 and 36 of the Civil Wrongs Ordinance [New Version].
(b)Nothing in the provisions of subsection (a) shall prevent the existence of a duty of care of the office holder towards another person.
Precautionary Measures and Level of Skill§
58.
An office holder shall act at the level of skill at which a reasonable office holder in the same position and in the same circumstances would act, and shall, inter alia, take, having regard to the circumstances of the matter, reasonable measures to ensure that acts performed by him by virtue of his position are consistent with the functions of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, and in order to obtain information that is of importance for the purpose of making a decision or performing an act by virtue of his position.
Duty of Loyalty§
59.
(a)An office holder owes a duty of loyalty to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation and shall act in the performance of his duties with fairness, in good faith and without bias.
(b)Nothing in the provisions of subsection (a) shall prevent the existence of a duty of loyalty of the office holder towards another person.
Remedies§
60.
(a)The laws applicable to breach of contract shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to a breach of the duty of loyalty of an office holder towards the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.
(b)Without derogating from the generality of the provisions of subsection (a), an office holder who has breached the duty of loyalty towards the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall be regarded as a person who has breached a contract with it.
(c)The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation may cancel an act performed by an office holder on behalf of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation in relation to another person, or claim from that person the damages owed to it by the office holder, even without cancellation of the act, if that person was aware of the breach of the duty of loyalty by the office holder.
Action on Behalf of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation§
61.
The Attorney General may, on his own initiative or at the request of the Minister, sue, on behalf of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, an office holder, in respect of damage caused to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation by an act or omission contrary to his duties towards the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation under law.
Need to cite this law in a foreign court?
Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.
Contact Us →Chapter X: Public Complaints Commissioner
Public Complaints Commissioner§
62.
(a)The Chairperson of the Council shall appoint, with the approval of the Council, a Public Complaints Commissioner for the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (in this Section – the Complaints Commissioner), for a term of office of five years.
(b)The Complaints Commissioner shall be an employee of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation and shall be selected by a search committee appointed by the Council from among its members.
(c)The Public Complaints Commissioner shall be independent in the performance of his duties.
(d)The Complaints Commissioner shall deliberate upon and examine complaints and petitions from the public in all matters relating to the broadcasts of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation and the content it provides, including advertisements, sponsorship notices and public service spots as defined in Chapter XII; the Council shall establish rules for the operation of the Complaints Commissioner, including with regard to the manner of examining complaints.
(e)The Complaints Commissioner may decline to deal with a complaint or petition if another body within the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation is competent to deliberate upon and adjudicate it.
(f)Should the Complaints Commissioner decide not to deal with a complaint by reason of the existence of a body as referred to in subsection (e), he shall report this to the complainant and to the Chairperson of the Council and shall transmit the complaint to the Council.
(g)If the Complaints Commissioner finds, after deliberating upon a complaint and hearing those concerned, that the complainant was correct in his approach, and that the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation acted unlawfully in a particular matter, he may instruct the Director General to broadcast his findings on the television or radio broadcasts in the manner and at the time he directed.
(h)The Complaints Commissioner shall publish, at least once a year, a report on his activities; the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall publish the report on its website.
Need to cite this law in a foreign court?
Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.
Contact Us →Chapter XI: Content of Public Broadcasting
Content of Public Broadcasting§
63.
(a)The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall provide content by means of television and radio and over the internet.
(b)The television broadcasts shall be conducted on a number of channels as set out below, at a minimum:
(1)a main broadcasting channel;
(2)a channel for children and youth;
(3)a channel in the Arabic language.
(c)
(1)The radio broadcasts shall be called "Kol Israel" and shall include news broadcasts and current affairs programmes, music, broadcasts on the subject of the heritage of Israel, broadcasts for children and youth, and broadcasts in the Arabic language and in languages prevalent among the public in Israel, including in the Russian and Amharic languages;
(2)at least half of the songs broadcast on radio in any month shall be songs in the Hebrew language; for this purpose, "a song in the Hebrew language" – a song the majority of whose lyrics are in the Hebrew language.
(c1)Without derogating from the provisions of subsection (c)(1), the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall broadcast news content and current affairs content within the framework of "Kol Israel" broadcasts on separate broadcasting networks, inter alia in the following cases:
(1)(Repealed);
(2)on a separate broadcasting network designated for the broadcast of content as aforesaid in languages prevalent among the public in Israel, including in the Russian, Amharic and Persian languages; such broadcasts shall take place at all hours of the day, and two-thirds of them shall be in the Russian language;
(3)on a separate broadcasting network designated predominantly for the broadcast of content as aforesaid for the ultra-Orthodox population; such broadcasts shall take place at all hours of the day, except on the Sabbath and on holidays; broadcasting on a separate broadcasting network as aforesaid shall be subject to the approval of the Minister in accordance with the provisions of section 11(1), and shall commence as soon as possible following receipt of such approval.
(c2)Broadcasts on the subject of the heritage of Israel shall be on a separate broadcasting network and shall take place at all hours of the day, except on the Sabbath and on holidays.
(c3)In this Section, "broadcasts on the subject of the heritage of Israel" – the broadcast of content connected to Jewish tradition and to the values of Zionism.
(d)The provisions of this Law applicable to broadcasts shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to content provided by the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation over the internet, except for the provisions of section 64; the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation may provide content by means of other technological means beyond those referred to in the definition of "the broadcasts", and the provisions of this subsection shall apply to such content.
Production and Acquisition of Programmes§
64.
(a)The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall expend, in each year, expenditure for the financing of production and for the acquisition of programmes as detailed in the Schedule and in accordance with the expenditure components and amounts set out therein.
(b)The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall not acquire from a single entity, in one year, purchased local productions in an amount exceeding 10% of the amount of the annual expenditure it is required to expend for the financing of purchased local productions, in accordance with the provisions of the Schedule; for the purpose of this subsection, a corporation, a person who controls it, and a corporation under the control of either of them shall be regarded as a single entity.
(c)The selection of purchased local productions to be acquired by the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall be carried out in consultation with public representatives with appropriate experience, to be appointed by the Council for this purpose for periods not exceeding three years; the names of the public representatives so appointed shall be published on the website of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.
(d)The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall not enter into an agreement for the acquisition of a purchased local production, unless the entity with which it is contracting has furnished it with a written declaration, of itself and of those related to it, regarding compliance with its obligations in the matter of maintaining workers' rights, under the labour laws applicable to it as an employer; for this purpose, "related party" and "written declaration" – as defined in section 2b of the Public Bodies Transactions Law, 5736-1976.
(e)The Council –
(1)may establish rules for the implementation of this Section, including with regard to the allocation of budgets that will enable the execution of purchased local productions at an appropriate level and quality;
(2)shall establish rules with regard to the rate of annual expenditure for the acquisition of productions from a single entity and with regard to the selection of purchased local productions, if the amount of the annual expenditure for broadcasting over the internet has exceeded NIS 20 million.
(f)The Council, with the approval of the Economics Committee, may amend the Schedule.
Intellectual Property Rights in Purchased Local Productions§
65.
(a)In this Section –
"Copyright Law" – the Copyright Law, 5768-2007;
"Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law" – the Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law, 5744-1984.
(b)Notwithstanding any law, upon contracting for the acquisition of purchased local productions, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall not hold more than half of the ownership of the intellectual property rights embodied in such productions.
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), the Minister, with the agreement of the Minister of Justice, shall establish provisions with regard to the following matters:
(1)an exclusivity period, during which the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall have the exclusive right to perform acts in purchased local productions, including acts as referred to in section 11 of the Copyright Law and in Chapter II of the Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law;
(2)acts that the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall be entitled to perform in purchased local productions after the exclusivity period referred to in paragraph (1);
(3)the transfer of intellectual property rights in purchased local productions or the grant of a licence in respect thereof.
Productions for the Ministry of Education§
66.
(a)The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall acquire, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, educational and instructional programmes, and shall broadcast them on the television broadcasts on the children and youth channel, if the Ministry of Education has so requested.
(b)The conditions for the production of programmes as referred to in subsection (a), including the consideration for their production and acquisition, shall be determined in an agreement between the Ministry of Education and the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.
(c)Programmes under this Section shall not be deemed a purchased local production under this Law.
Preservation, Documentation and Accessibility§
67.
(a)In this Section –
"archival material" – as defined in the Archives Law;
"Archives Law" – the Archives Law, 5715-1955.
(b)
(1)Without derogating from the provisions of the Archives Law, except with regard to the manner of making archival material available for public inspection, and notwithstanding intellectual property rights in broadcasts and in content, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall preserve and document its broadcasts, the broadcasts of the Broadcasting Authority and the broadcasts of Educational Television that were transferred to it under sections 108 and 122, as well as other content that it transmits under section 63(d);
(2)the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall make available for public inspection, including for research or scientific purposes, broadcasts and content as referred to in paragraph (1), notwithstanding the intellectual property rights therein, in ways to be established by the Council in rules, provided that the tariffs it shall be entitled to charge under this subsection shall reflect the ongoing operating costs of making the material preserved and documented under this subsection available for public inspection only; the tariffs shall be approved by the Council and published on the website of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.
(c)
(1)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), and without derogating from the provisions under section 65(c), the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall permit commercial use of a segment of archival material that was preserved and documented under subsection (a), on conditions to be established by the Minister with the agreement of the Minister of Justice, unless other conditions have been agreed upon between the parties, and it may charge in respect thereof prevailing tariffs on this matter to be approved by the Council and published on the website of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation;
(2)intellectual property rights that were transferred to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation under sections 108 and 122 shall continue to be subject to the conditions that were in force under an agreement or under any law on the eve of the date on which they were so transferred.
(d)Nothing in the provisions of this Section –
(1)shall derogate from the application of the Archives Law with regard to other archival material of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation;
(2)shall prevent the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation from transferring to the Knesset parts of the archive of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation that document the deliberations of the Knesset and its committees, which were broadcast pursuant to an agreement between the Knesset and the Broadcasting Authority and pursuant to the Television Broadcasts from the Knesset Law (Temporary Provision), 5757-1997, provided that the provisions of this Section with regard to the preservation and documentation of broadcasts and with regard to making them available for public inspection shall also apply to the Knesset.
Need to cite this law in a foreign court?
Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.
Contact Us →Read the entire law on one page — continuous text, no page breaks, plus PDF downloads.