Contentious legislation poised for revival in Knesset winter session

The first year since the October 7 massacre, the governing coalition largely refrained from controversial legislation, but the upcoming winter session, which begins on Monday, will mark the end of this trend.

The most important bill likely to reach the Knesset floor during the winter session is the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) IDF draft bill. The issue is hotly contested between the coalition and the opposition and between members of the coalition itself.

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee held several meetings in order to formulate a bill, but its basic tenet – to enable a majority of haredi yeshiva students to remain exempt from IDF service, with the haredi draftees rising gradually every year – is a nonstarter for the opposition.

Coalition leaders in closed-door negotiations have attempted to find a compromise between the IDF’s needs and the demand of the haredi parties that yeshiva students remain exempt from service, but these attempts have so far been unsuccessful.

The second major piece of legislation in the upcoming session is the 2025 budget. The budget bill hinges on the passing of the haredi draft bill, as United Torah Judaism chairman, Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, has announced that his party will not support the budget if the IDF draft bill does not pass first.

The Finance Ministry recently published an over 200-page document that includes the steps it intends to take in order to counter the immense state expenditures in 2023 and 2024.

These include a number of tax hikes, freezing salaries of public sector workers, and other drastic measures that are likely to raise opposition amongst the public, especially if the government refrains from shutting down some of its ministries or cutting back on sectoral spending.

Marking the start of Knesset's winter session

The winter session will also include a number of bills associated with the government’s controversial reform. These include a proposal by Hanoch Milwidsky (Likud) to make membership in the Israel Bar Association for lawyers voluntary rather than mandatory.

This would significantly weaken the power of the IBA, which currently has two members on the Judicial Selection Committee and thus plays an important role in judicial appointments, which are a point of contention at the heart of the judicial reforms.

Other notable bills that have created controversy have to do with civil rights amidst the ongoing war. One of these is a proposal that gives the education minister the power to fire a teacher that he views as having expressed support for an act of terror.

Proposals to moderate the bill by requiring that the move receive judicial approval were rejected, and opponents of the bill argued that it would target Arab teachers more than was necessary since laws against incitement already exist.

The events to mark the opening of the winter session will begin at 8:00 a.m. when a memorial book will be placed in the Knesset building for members of Knesset to sign and write. Knesset committees will meet as usual during the morning.

Between 12:00 to 2:00 p.m., most Knesset parties will convene for party meetings and a press conference by party leaders. At 2:30 p.m., a memorial service will be held to honor the fallen soldiers and civilians from the Israel-Hamas War, as well as lay the cornerstone for a monument in their memory.

The Knesset plenum will then open at 4:00 p.m. with a prayer by Olympic medalist and coach Oren Smadja, whose son Omer was killed in battle. This will be followed by speeches by the president, prime minister, Knesset Speaker, and leader of the opposition.

Family members of hostages are expected to attend many of the committee meetings and the plenum in order to pressure members of Knesset to support a hostage deal.