Knesset approved a sweeping law Wednesday evening that sharply weakens the authority of the attorney general, allowing the government to disregard the office’s legal opinions and determine for itself how the law should be interpreted.
The bill passed its second and third readings in the Knesset by 61 votes to 51, completing the legislative process.
Its central provision ends the binding status traditionally given to opinions issued by the attorney general, Israel’s highest legal adviser to the government. Under the new law, those opinions will become recommendations that the government may reject.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was absent from the vote, as he was from several other coalition bills approved this week. His absence may also have been connected to a conflict-of-interest arrangement arising from his ongoing criminal trial.
The law is a central element of the judicial overhaul promoted by Netanyahu’s government since it took office. Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman led the legislation through nearly 70 committee sessions.
The original proposal would also have divided the attorney general’s dual role as legal adviser to the government and head of the state prosecution. That provision was ultimately removed.
Even without the split, the final law significantly reduces the office’s authority.
Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman
(Photo: Knesset)
The government will be permitted to declare that a written legal opinion by the attorney general does not reflect the law, whether the opinion concerns the cabinet itself or another part of the executive branch. Such decisions must be reported to the Knesset’s Constitution Committee, or to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in security and diplomatic matters.
The arrangement will not apply to criminal powers explicitly granted to the attorney general by law.
The legislation also gives the government control over the position presented on its behalf in court.
The attorney general will normally formulate and present the state’s legal position, but the government will be able to adopt a different one. If the attorney general refuses to defend it, the government may appoint a private lawyer to represent the state.
In such cases, the attorney general will not be allowed to appear in the proceedings without government approval. The rule will not apply to criminal cases.
Possible route to removing the attorney general
Another major clause requires the government, within 30 days of the law taking effect on Jan. 1, 2027, to decide how future attorneys general will be appointed.
Critics say the provision could allow the government to remove Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara without referring the decision to the professional appointments committee currently headed by a retired Supreme Court justice.
The government previously attempted to dismiss Baharav-Miara while bypassing that committee, but the move was struck down by the Supreme Court.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin
(Photo: Amit Shabi)
The law formally states that the attorney general remains independent. It immediately qualifies that independence, however, by requiring the office to assist the government in implementing its policy and by allowing the government to override its legal position.
The attorney general will retain formal independence as chief prosecutor, with the law stating that in criminal matters the office is subject only to the law.
Legal officials have nevertheless warned that weakening the advisory function could also affect criminal enforcement involving ministers and senior public officials. If the government can reject a legal opinion that a particular act is unlawful, critics argue, it could make subsequent criminal proceedings more difficult.
Ultra-Orthodox dispute nearly derails vote
The legislation passed as part of a broader political agreement between Netanyahu’s coalition and its ultra-Orthodox parties.
Those parties supported the bill after the coalition advanced several measures they had demanded, including legislation recognizing Torah study as a national value, freezing arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders and reversing changes to Israel’s kosher-certification system.
The vote was briefly thrown into doubt when United Torah Judaism lawmaker Moshe Gafni threatened that his party’s lawmakers would oppose the bill unless the government restored a proposal concerning funding for ultra-Orthodox kindergarten teachers.
United Torah Judaism lawmaker Moshe Gafni
(Photo: Knesset)
The proposal had been removed from the government agenda amid a dispute between Gafni and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Rothman prolonged his speech in the Knesset plenum to delay the vote while negotiations continued behind the scenes.
The crisis was resolved after Netanyahu agreed to place the kindergarten funding proposal on the government’s agenda himself.
The funding dispute involved a planned financial penalty against ultra-Orthodox educational networks that had failed to provide sufficient information about teachers’ seniority. Only about 30% of the networks had completed the required reporting process.
Coalition: restoring governability
Coalition leaders said the law was necessary to restore the authority of elected officials and prevent unelected legal advisers from blocking government policy.
Levin called the measure another central component of the judicial overhaul.
“This is a necessary step to restore governing ability to the elected leadership so it can carry out the policy for which it received the public’s trust,” he said.
Rothman said the law ended an unacceptable situation in which the attorney general could present a position in court that differed from that of the government.
“Every person in Israel deserves legal representation,” he said. “Israel is the only place in the world where you can read a headline saying, ‘The government opposes the state’s position.’”
Critics petition Supreme Court
Opponents warned that the law would allow the government to operate without meaningful legal restraints, weaken civil rights, politicize senior appointments and use public resources for partisan purposes.
Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon said the proposal was not an attempt to divide the office but to eliminate it.
Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon
(Photo: Knesset)
“After the proposal passes, the government will no longer be practically subject to the rule of law, for the simple reason that it will decide for itself what the law is,” he said.
Civil society groups and opposition figures filed petitions with the Supreme Court immediately after the law passed.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said the measure endangered protections for freedom of expression, protest, equality, privacy and due process.
“When the government can decide for itself when it is subject to the law, bypass professional legal opinions and silence the professional voice before the courts, the protection of the public is weakened,” said the organization’s legal adviser, Oded Feller.
The Movement for Quality Government called the legislation a last-minute power grab by a coalition lacking public legitimacy and accused Netanyahu of seeking to weaken the institution that heads the prosecution in his criminal trial.
Opposition lawmaker Gilad Kariv described the measure as the cornerstone of what he called Israel’s regime revolution and Netanyahu’s revenge against the legal system.
Because the law is not due to take effect until Jan. 1, 2027, after the Knesset election expected in late October, it remains unclear whether the Supreme Court will issue an interim order freezing its implementation while the petitions are considered.