Waiter Storm: Demand that he resign

Following the appointment of Migdal as chairman, the President of the Press Council is required to resign from one of his positions in the "Public Lobby".

David Wertheim

24/01/2022

Monday, 24 January 2022, 14:30 Updated: 14:44

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on Twitter

• Share on Email

• Share on general

• Comments

  Comments

First official demand from retired Press Council President Justice Hanan Meltzer to resign following his appointment as chairman of Migdal. The demand joins a call by the journalists' organization. Immediately from one of the positions you hold - President of the Israel Press Council or Chairman of the Board of Directors of Migdal Insurance and Finance Holdings Ltd. (hereinafter: 'Migdal'). This is because holding the two hats at the same time will lead to fears of a conflict of interest and a serious injury to public confidence in the conduct of the Press Council. "

According to Lobby 99, Meltzer's appointment as chairman of Migdal was received with surprise among the capital market, the world of law and civil society, and in itself, raises difficulties.

This is because a situation in which judges in general and Supreme Court judges in particular, in a very short time, move from the judiciary to senior positions in the business sector, raises serious concerns about the consequences of the "revolving doors" phenomenon, among them: fear of bias In light of the thought of possible employment "the day after";

Fear of exploiting the status of retired judges and Supreme Court justices in particular, in order to flaunt them towards regulators and policy makers and perhaps even “open doors” in front of them;

Fear of cynical exploitation of the reputation - the integrity and respect that the public acquires towards judges in general, and Supreme Court judges in particular, by capitalists and business entities for the benefit of their affairs;

More on Walla!

A healthy eating routine, a busy life routine: how do you do it?

Walla!

Food in collaboration will prepare

Judge Hanan Meltzer at the hearing on whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be able to form a government under indictment, Supreme Court December 31, 2019 (Photo: Berni Ardov)

"Fatal injury to public trust in the Press Council"

"The independence of the media is frequently threatened not only by government officials, but as a result of economic and business interests working to influence their conduct."

"However, beyond the aforementioned difficulties in your role as chairman of Migdal, your decision to continue serving as president of the Press Council at the time is unacceptable, and raises real difficulties regarding the fear of conflicts of interest and damage to public trust in the Press Council. The judge, "the lobby notes,

" the independence of the media is often threatened not only by government officials, but also as a result of economic and business interests that act to influence their conduct, in order to skew media coverage in their favor: from large companies investing huge sums in media advertising. Which may lead to a "cooling effect" in coverage against them, through shareholders in the various media who use them as leverage for the benefit of maximizing their additional economic interests, and ending with attempts to "engineer" various players in the media market for business interests, as the indictments in the Alps show. 'Which are currently being conducted in the Jerusalem District Court.

"The Press Council believes, among other things, in preserving the values ​​of a free press and determining the rules of ethics that apply to the media, expanding public trust in the media and establishing their independence and disengagement from the capital-government system. Migdal - the holding company of one of the largest financial entities in Israel, subject to significant regulation by both the Securities Authority and the Capital Market Authority as it invests public money in the short and long term, which has known ups and downs in its relationship with the Capital Market Authority over the years The subject of significant coverage in the economic press, as well as a large advertiser with significant economic interests, is an unacceptable situation. "This is in view of concerns about the existence of conflicts of interest in the subject of media coverage and especially in light of the public message that emerges, the public eye and the human damage to public trust in the Press Council, its conduct and decisions, along with the heavy cloud on the justice system."

As mentioned, the Code of Ethics of the Israel Press and Media Council stipulates in section 15, a prohibition on the presence of journalists and the media in a situation where there is a real fear of a material conflict of interest between journalists and any other interest, and a ban on engaging in any occupation .

We believe that these rules should also apply to the President of the Press Council.

• Brenze

• news

Tags

• Hanan Meltzer

• Press Council