Jewish Heritage TV Channel Fined for Excluding Conservative and Reform Judaism

17 August 2017

Israel’s Channel 20, the Jewish Heritage TV station, has been fined 100,000 NIS ($27,800) by the Council for Cable TV and Satellite Broadcasting for excluding Reform and Conservative Jewish content from its programming, in violation of its license. The Israeli regulator upheld complaints by the NIF-supported Conservative and Reform movements and ordered the TV station to provide future reports on the non-Orthodox content it is broadcasting.

Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) president and CEO Rabbi Gilad Kariv said, “We are glad that the Council for Cable TV and Satellite Broadcasting has finally taken clear action against the exclusion of Reform Judaism from Channel 20’s programs and the station’s blatant contempt for the rule of law… We will closely follow the channel’s conduct and will not hesitate to take other legal and public steps if these financial sanctions have no more than a symbolic effect.”

He added, “The Israeli public deserves heritage broadcasts, not a TV channel for baseless hatred.”

Channel 20 is known for its right-wing national-religious content.