The High Court of Justice unanimously accepted the petitions against the government’s decision to close Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio), ruling that “the decision was based on an extraneous and improper consideration."

The justices ruled that the government decision must be overturned “because the decision was made on the basis of an extraneous and improper consideration: the dissatisfaction of the decision-makers with the fact that the broadcasts, in their view, ran counter to their positions. The Court was persuaded, as a matter of fact, that this was indeed the case, and further noted that after a conditional order was issued, the government did not act to prove otherwise. The Court held that the government had the authority to make a decision on the matter and rejected the argument that closing Galei Tzahal required primary legislation."

The justices noted that they do not object to the closure of Galei Tzahal, but that such a decision must be made through a proper process. “All of the justices, each for his or her own reasons, made clear that they do not rule out the possibility of closing Galei Tzahal on its merits, had the decision on the matter been made lawfully and on the basis of relevant considerations, nor do they take a position regarding the content of the broadcasts."

Justice Yechiel Kasher wrote in the ruling: “It cannot be accepted that a person vested with governmental authority may decide that because he does not like the statements made by a broadcaster, the broadcaster’s ‘microphone should be shut off.’

“A government that acts in this manner is acting in a clearly undemocratic fashion, since the cornerstone upon which every democratic government rests is the recognition that the government may not use its power to silence those whose views it finds objectionable."

Justice Alex Stein rejected the petitioners’ argument that closing Galei Tzahal in itself infringes freedom of expression. According to Stein, freedom of expression does not impose an obligation on the state to operate a radio station in order to provide a platform for opinions to be heard. On the contrary, state-run news and current-affairs broadcasts could themselves distort public discourse.

He addressed the image of a uniformed Galei Tzahal soldier interviewing a politician and wrote that this constitutes a “distortion of the system of government," since the IDF, “the army of everyone," should have no role whatsoever in political discourse, “not even the role of interviewer and broadcaster."

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to the ruling: “The Supreme Court is carrying out a coup against democracy and stripping a democratically elected government of its lawful powers. If the judges at Givat Ram in Jerusalem want to make decisions in place of the government, they are welcome to establish a political party and run for election to the Knesset. The judges are acting with endless arrogance and, without authority, are overturning the decisions of the elected government.

“Otzma Yehudit’s condition for joining the next government is the passage of a full judicial reform: the establishment of a constitutional court and the immediate dismissal of the criminal Attorney General," Ben-Gvir said.