Series of controversial laws pass in legislative blitz ahead of summer recess

Israel’s Knesset plenum passed a number of laws and measures, some of them controversial, overnight between Wednesday and Thursday as part of a legislative blitz ahead of the three-month summer recess that begins on Monday.

The first bill to pass into law was the controversial “kosher cellphone” bill. The law was designed to enable a body called the Rabbinic Committee for Communication to track its approximately 600,000 constituents’ religious observance level by earmarking a swath of cell phone numbers as belonging to “kosher phones” (i.e., without internet capability). These groups of phone numbers are known as the “kosher platform.”

The key aspect of the law is that it prevents people with “kosher” cellphones from keeping the same phone number if they opt to switch to a “non-kosher” phone. Haredi politicians have argued that the ultra-Orthodox public had the right to choose whether or not to join the platform, and that it anchored in law an arrangement that many citizens wanted.

However, many politicians and other officials have opposed the law on social and economic grounds. Socially, opponents argued, the bill gave the powerful rabbinic committee leverage to apply social pressure against constituents who do not opt for a kosher phone. Economically, officials from the finance ministry, competition authority, and the communications ministry argued that the bill would have negative economic effects, as it could lead to the monopolization of kosher devices and kosher cellphone service providers, which would drive up prices.

According to a political agreement between the haredi parties and National Security Minister MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, the latter instructed his party members to support the kosher cellphone bill in exchange for haredi support for a measure that passed next in the plenum late Wednesday night: placing a law enforcement agency called the National Unit for Enforcing Planning and Construction Laws under Ben-Gvir’s jurisdiction.

The unit, previously under the finance ministry, was formed in 2017 as part of a law known as the Kamenetz Law, whose purpose was to tighten enforcement of illegal construction, especially in the Arab sector. The unit has the authority to hand out fines and other sanctions for construction violators. Ben-Gvir has promoted stricter enforcement against construction violations, especially among Bedouin nomads in the South, and having the unit under his auspices will give him more power in that regard. Ben-Gvir has argued that as a law enforcement agency, the unit’s proper place is the national security ministry. However, Arab-Israeli politicians have claimed that Ben-Gvir intends to use the unit to pursue Arabs in general and Bedouins in particular.

Controversial bill passes first reading 

A second controversial bill – changing the election procedure of the watchdog responsible for overseeing Israel’s judicial system – advanced in the plenum late Wednesday night. This bill, unlike the kosher cellphone bill, only passed its first reading at the plenum and still needs to pass additional stages before becoming law.

The judicial system watchdog has the authority to hear complaints against judges and even recommend removing them from their positions. The watchdog oversees all judges with statutory powers, including in criminal courts, transportation courts, family courts, and religious courts.

Existing law says the position is a joint appointment by the Supreme Court chief justice and the justice minister, and is approved by the judicial selection committee. However, the former watchdog, former high court judge Uri Shoham, finished his tenure in May, and Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Interim Chief Justice Uzi Fogelman have been unable to reach an agreement on the identity of the next watchdog.

The bill’s purpose, according to its sponsor, Knesset Constitution Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party), is to solve the stalemate. The current law requires that the watchdog have a relevant background and deep familiarity with the court system, and, although not required by law, all former watchdogs have been retired high-court justices. However, the new proposal allows the justice minister or any group of 10 Knesset members to propose a candidate, who then needs the approval of at least 70 MKs. The new bill does not include any professional requirements for the candidate.

Rothman argued that the Knesset, as the representative of the people, should have the prerogative to elect the watchdog. In addition, he said that the high court’s chief justice should not be involved in the election process since he himself would face oversight by the watchdog.

However, the bill’s opponents, including members of the opposition, the attorney general’s office, the legal adviser for Rothman’s own committee, and civil organizations like the Israel Democracy Institute, pointed out a number of issues. First, the bill would not necessarily end the stalemate it had set out to solve because it does not clarify what would happen if 70 MKs fail to agree on a candidate; second, there are no professional requirements, potentially appointing someone without the necessary qualifications; and third, the bill would turn the watchdog into a political appointment, which could have a chilling effect on judges who would not want to be targeted for political reasons.

Furthermore, some opponents argued that it would serve as a de facto continuation of the controversial 2023 judicial reforms, which caused widespread social turmoil, weakening the judicial system.

Another bill that passed overnight on Wednesday was the Metro Law, which is aimed at providing the regulatory framework that would allow Israel’s metro to be advanced efficiently and quickly, as well as funding the project.

Israel’s metro project will connect 24 local municipalities across the center of Israel. It includes three lines, 150 km. of underground track, and 109 stations, the Treasury said. It is expected to carry two million passengers daily, and the Treasury estimated the project’s economic benefit at NIS 30 billion annually. The law also includes an aid package for businesses near metro construction to the tune of half a billion shekels.

The Metro Law was first put forward by the previous government, but the opposition at the time, led by current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, refused to support it in June 2022, so as not to give the outgoing government a political victory. The bill was thus delayed by two years and finally passed late Wednesday night.

“The State of Israel is in a severe infrastructural deficit. The main reason for that is the slow pace of completing essential projects. The Metro Project is the biggest infrastructure project in Israel’s history, [and] the Metro Law creates the regulatory and structural framework that will enable its construction with the utmost efficiency and speed, to the benefit of the country’s citizens,” Yoav Gradus, director-general of the Budget Department at Israel’s Ministry of Finance, said after the bill passed.

“Especially now, it is vital to advance economic projects that will accelerate growth,” he added.

Earlier this month, Israel’s central bank dropped its forecast for the growth of the gross domestic product to 1.5% in 2024 and 4.2% in 2025. This was based partially on the bank’s revised assumption that the intensity and duration of the Israel-Hamas war may increase.