The chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Supreme Court judge Yitzhak Amit, has denied Yesh Atid's petition to designate the right-leaning Channel 14 as an "elections-involved body."
Yesh Atid will be charged 20,000 NIS in expenses: 10,000 NIS will be paid to Channel 14, and 10,000 NIS to the Likud.
In his decision, Amit writes: "...media outlets are in a special position when it comes to freedom of political expression, especially during an election cycle. Freedom of political expression is an inseparable part of holding free and fair elections, and through it, voters can be impressed by the open marketplace of ideas and make educated decisions on who to vote for."
"Yet, the democratic process is harmed when wealthy bodies divert the conversation so their voices are heard over the voices of others in the open marketplace of ideas while harming equal chances in the elections. This danger increases in the modern media market, with its centralization."
Judge Amit closes his decision by stating that those who drafted the law did not intend an "elections-involved body" to be a private for-profit media outlet that regularly broadcasts a range of content to a non-specific audience, and is not specifically connected to the elections.