Premier Menachem Begin lashed out yesterday at what he perceived to be ideological dissent in the Israel Broadcasting Authority, a quasi-government agency that traditionally enjoys a high degree of autonomy. According to reports of a Cabinet discussion on the budget for Israel radio ad television, Begin attacked the Broadcast Authority heads who appeared to present their budget requests. “Who set you up or elected you as an opposition to the government?” he asked and admonished them to “behave like a government service, not an anti-government one.”
He singled out television’s choice of Labor spoke-men such as Simcha Dinitz, the former Israeli Ambassador to Washington, Chaim Herzog, Israel’s former Ambassador the UN, and former Chief of Staff and Commerce Minister Haim Barlev, to comment on political and military affairs. “What is this here? Who is in charge of policy here?” he asked. The Cabinet agreed to allow the Broadcasting Authority a one month temporary budget so that it could continue to function during May.
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