The Israel government, at its December 27 sitting, has finally approved the 1997 budget for the Israel Broadcasting Authority following a 10-day delay. The IBA will receive 650 million shekels, which represents a 3% cut over last year.

During the cabinet debate, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that the radio and television tax will be repealed over the next two years. "The Broadcasting Authority will have to find alternate funding sources," said the Prime Minister. Mr. Netanyahu also criticized the IBA broadcasts, pointing to recent polls showing the public's feeling that media reporting is biased against his administration. The Prime Minister indicated that he is against having the public paying what amounts to a tax to view television.

Israel's Media Watch (IMW) had campaigned vigorously for a deeper cut in the IBA budget. In a memo distributed to government ministers, IMW noted that 50 million shekels (30 million more than the government decided) could be deleted. IMW had also demanded that all development and construction work be halted at the new broadcasting center in Jerusalem until a decision is reached regarding privatization of the public broadcasting network.

The IMW memo noted that several independent reports in the past three years criticized the featherbedding and large employment status, the lack of cooperation between the radio and television, the multiplicity of workers' committees, inadequate financial administration and other negative organizational elements.

The IBA generated a 40 million shekel deficit in 1996 and spent 5 million shekels of the election coverage, 3.5 million shekels over the original budget outlay. IMW also noted that the new budget indicated an actual raise in salaries over 2.5-3.5% whereas there was a drop of 6-7% in activities.

Israel's Media Watch is a non-partisan advocacy group concerned with the ethical and professional standards of the media in Israel.