The coalition is preparing for a renewed battle over three controversial laws, the Judges Law, the Cannabis Law, and the Planning and Building Committee Law.
The Judges Law failed in an embarrassing manner the last time it was brought for a vote after Knesset Speaker Miki Levy accidentally voted against it, resulting in a 51-51 tie.
Levy examined whether the result could be changed, but the Knesset's legal counsel did not approve it, he announced: "In light of the fact that my vote could not be changed and there was no majority in the third reading, the law was not passed in the third reading."
The law stipulates that the Committee for the Selection of Rabbinic Judges will have 13 members, including the two Chief Rabbis of Israel, two judges of the Great Rabbinical Court who are elected for three years. Under the approved amendment, the government will have three representatives on the committee instead of two today: the justice minister, the religious affairs minister, and a third government representative. The committee will also include two attorneys, to be elected by the National Board of the Bar Association for three years. According to the approved amendment, two rabbinical candidates will serve on the committee (instead of the current one), which will be selected by the justice and religious affairs ministries.