MQG called on the State Comptroller Yoseph Shapira to initiate a special probe to investigate the establishment process of the new public broadcasting corporation. The probe must include a thorough inspection regarding the conduct of the corporation’s management as well as the influence of external factors such as by the Minister of Communications.

In the appeal, which was also sent to the Chairman of Knesset State Control Committee Ms. Karin Elharar, MQG insists that the legislative process to establish the public broadcasting corporation which began in 2013 states that the new corporation will start it’s broadcast before 01.04.2015. Since the law originally passed, the government postponed the launch of the new corporation no less than four times was.

The Israel Broadcasting Authority headquarters in Jerusalem. The new corporation is meant to replace it.

In preparation for the establishment of the new corporation, hundreds of new employees were hired, many of them after leaving their former jobs as Journalists. At the same time, final preparations were made in order to close the existing Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in its current position, including firing employees, announcements about not renewing contracts, and new productions. It goes without saying that at the moment there is no budget framework for IBA to keep on going at its current state for the next two years.

This current delay, which was done without updating the management of the new corporation, is another milestone in a complicated, crooked and inefficient establishment process which it’s beginning was in the legislation of the law, with no end in sight. The establishment of the new corporation suffers from non-stop interventions by political elements which constantly prefer their own small cynical interest over the public’s interest, which needs a high-quality public broadcasting company. That comes along with an inadequate conduct, of the new corporation’s management, including hiring new employees and making meaningful content so the corporation can go on air on time.

Independent public broadcasting is critical and it’s quality is a sign of a strong democracy. After years of poor conduct by IBA, conduct which received mush criticism, it’s time to establish a new and improved broadcasting company for the sake of the public in Israel.