Result of the vote
Result of the voteIsaac Harari/Knesset Spokesperson

After a lengthy debate which continued for some 58 hours, and after all the reservations submitted by the opposition were rejected, the Knesset approved on Wednesday night the second and third readings of the bill known as the “Recommendations Law”.

59 MKs voted in favor of the bill, while 54 voted against and none abstained.

The Recommendations Law seeks to prohibit police from making public recommendations for or against prosecution at the end of an investigation. Opponents of the law have accused the law of shielding Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu from negative police recommendations in ongoing investigations against him.

Netanyahu has actually ordered that the Recommendations Law be amended so that it would not apply to investigations to which his name was connected.

The vote on the bill was preceded by a lengthy filibuster by the opposition parties, during which MKs from the opposition gave lengthy speeches in an attempt to delay the vote.

On Wednesday evening, as the Knesset voted on the hundreds of reservations brought forward against the bill, Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid declared that his party would appeal to the Supreme Court should the bill pass. In response, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) chastised Lapid and accused him of disgracing the Knesset.

Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) responded to Lapid and said that if any party from the opposition appeals to the Supreme Court over the Recommendations Law, he would act to ensure that the opposition will not be able to carry out a filibuster in the future.

The Yesh Atid party was unfazed by Edelstein’s threats, saying, "Yesh Atid does not take orders from the coalition, especially not on the day that the government is enslaving the entire democratic process for the purpose of Netanyahu's criminal troubles. The appeal will be submitted as planned tomorrow morning."

Zionist Union chairman Avi Gabbay released a statement ahead of the vote on the Recommendations Law, saying, "December 27 is a dark day in the history of the fight against crime and corruption.”

"I reiterate my commitment: The government which I will head will abolish the Recommendations Law, the Supermarket Law and the Job Law," he added.