The Knesset Committee will hold two discussions, on Monday and on Wednesday, regarding a bill submitted by MK Avichay Buaron to establish a public committee to determine the salaries of high-ranking public officeholders.
Under the proposed mechanism, the President’s salary would constitute 100% of the salary to be set, while the salaries of the Prime Minister, the Knesset Speaker, and the President of the Supreme Court would stand at 95% of that amount.
Ministers and Supreme Court justices would receive 90%, MKs and magistrate court presidents would receive 75%, and additional officeholders would receive 80%.
Currently, the gross monthly salary of Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit is estimated at more than 110,000 shekels, that of President Isaac Herzog at about 75,000 shekels, and that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at about 65,000 shekels.
The judges have expressed opposition to the proposed mechanism and fear damage to their salaries and distortions, since if the salary ceiling is set according to the current President’s salary, the salary of the next Supreme Court President would decrease.
According to the bill, the salaries of sitting judges would not be harmed and the change is supposed to apply only to new judges. However, the law is expected to lead to a salary reduction for sitting judges who advance in rank or are chosen as Supreme Court President, which Justice Ministry officials estimate could lead to a quiet wave of judges retiring.
Knesset officials estimate that the salary ceiling set by the committee will stand at about 90,000 shekels gross per month, similar to the IDF Chief of Staff’s salary. This is expected to lead to salary increases for other officeholders in lower ranks, including ministers, MKs, and police major generals.