Communications (Telecommunications and Broadcasting) Law (Amendment No. 82 – Temporary Provision) Bill

What does the bill do?

The law applies to a program in the Georgian language most of whose creators, most of whose performers, most of the technical and engineering crew that took part in its production and most of whose production crew are Israeli residents who were born in Georgia or at least one of whose parents was born in Georgia, and which will be broadcast in Israel on channels at least half of whose broadcast time is in the Georgian language, provided that the total broadcast time of these channels is not less than 12 hours a day, six days a week. The law further provides that the Council for Cable and Satellite Broadcasting will distribute the budget according to support criteria it sets, and that in distributing the support funds the council will examine whether the local production fits one or more of the purposes set in the law, among them enabling members of the Georgian community to express the community's sentiments, traditions and culture; providing relevant information to community members to help them deal with various bodies in Israel, including government ministries; and presenting the Israeli way of life, to help absorb community members in Israel. In addition, the council will take into account, when distributing the support funds, the broadcast hours in which the productions will be aired on those channels.