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Curbing freedom of speech By Haaretz Editorial Tags: Israel The High Court ruling last week approving the banning of a political ad is a harsh blow to freedom of speech. That freedom, according to Justice Miriam Naor, who wrote the decision, is "a basic right and a precondition to ensuring the existence and faithful protection of most other basic rights," without which "democracy loses its soul." But the ruling reflects a significant retreat in the protection the court gives to this basic right. The ruling involved the decision by the Israel Broadcasting Authority's director general, Mordechai Sklar, to strike down a political ad by The People's Voice, which was promoting its initiative for solving the conflict with the Palestinians. The reason: It was "a political issue that is publicly controversial." Five High Court judges on the seven-member bench rejected the petition by The People's Voice and backed disqualifying the ad. The minority opinion, held by High Court President Dorit Beinisch and Justice Esther Hayut, agreed with the petitioners, not for reasons of protecting freedom of speech, but for procedural reasons, leaving the right itself vulnerable. The authority to invalidate publicly controversial statements is not proper. It should be emphasized that these are not issues of left and right. Jerusalem's status in negotiations with the Palestinians is publicly controversial and the High Court allowed the banning of an ad calling for Jerusalem to remain united under Israeli sovereignty. Advertisement The damage to freedom of speech is even greater when one considers that the High Court made do with a general statement by the legislature on striking down ads, and left the decision on the extent of permissible damage to the Israel Broadcasting Authority's director general, a cabinet appointee. A situation in which an individual appointed by the government prevents minority opinions from being heard is a real threat to democracy. The misuse of the great power the court has given Sklar can already be clearly seen: A few days after the ruling he excluded an ad calling for students from the Gaza Strip to be allowed to leave for advanced studies abroad. The rationale for prohibiting political ads is ostensibly fitting: to prevent the purchase of political power by buying advertising time. But it seems the ruling also undermines the goal the court itself has set. First of all, it seems the main damage will be to opinions not heard in public discourse, and those who hold them will have no choice but to buy time to air them. Second, the wealthy, who will not be allowed to buy airtime, will divert their financial resources to taking over media content - from buying media outlets to inserting content into news stories through spokespeople and strategy consultants. The wealthy's political power will only increase; the public will find it more difficult to identify political positions when they are disguised as news. Freedom of expression is a supreme principle in our constitutional regime. Political freedom of expression is the heart and soul of that freedom. The judicial branch, now struggling for its independence against attempts by the executive branch to take control of it, must go back to carrying out its crucial function in protecting human and civil rights. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Playing with fire Sarkozy warns Iran it risks Israeli strike on nuke program. Our own desert island Israel tries to lure 'Big Brother' type U.S. reality TV series.

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