Netanyahu to scrap law banning scribes from airing views

Succumbing to public pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today assured the country that he will scrap a newly-passed controversial law that banned journalists working for Israel’s public broadcaster from expressing their personal opinions on air.

“The prime minister believes that the ethical rules for journalists do not need to be enshrined in the primary <g data-gr-id="13">legislation,</g> and decided to bring an amendment to the clause,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said today.

A proposal to this effect is likely to be brought in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) as early as tomorrow, local media reported. The controversial law, passed earlier this week, drew sharp criticism from journalists who accused the government of trying to suppress dissent.

The Israel Press Council has also urged the parliament to cancel the law, which stipulated that?broadcasts should “avoid one-sidedness, prejudice, expressing personal opinions, giving grades and affixing labels, ignoring facts or selectively emphasising them not according to their newsworthiness.”