The Knesset voted 65-51 on July 15 to pass a law stripping Israel's attorney general of her binding authority over the government. Under the new rules, ministers can reject the AG's legal opinions instead of following them, and the government gains control over who holds the job — replacing an independent appointments committee. The law doesn't touch the AG's power to prosecute crimes. It will take effect in January 2027, about two months after Israel's next elections, scheduled for October 27. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn't in the chamber — his ongoing criminal trial bars him from voting on AG-related matters under a conflict-of-interest arrangement.

1. The AG Had Too Much Power (MK Simcha Rothman, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin)

The coalition says Israel's unelected attorney general had accumulated binding authority that elected officials in comparable democracies don't tolerate.

No comparable democracy lets its legal adviser override elected ministers. MK Simcha Rothman, the Religious Zionism lawmaker who led the bill, called it "a historic change" that "restores legal advice to its natural role." Justice Minister Yariv Levin called it "a necessary step to restore governing ability to the elected leadership." Voters chose these politicians, the argument goes, and an unelected lawyer shouldn't hold veto power over their decisions.

The law also shifted control over who gets the AG job. Under the old system, an independent committee — not the government — controlled who held the job. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called the law's passage a decision of "enormous significance for Jewish identity, Zionism, security and settlement," and promised to complete "all necessary reforms to the judicial system."

2. But This Removes the Last Check on Government Power (AG Gali Baharav-Miara, MK Gilad Kariv, Israel Democracy Institute)

Israel has no written constitution, so the attorney general was one of the only real brakes on executive overreach.

Without the AG, the government faces no internal legal check. Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon stated: "The government will no longer be practically subject to the rule of law." Amir Fuchs, a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, said the law eliminates "a key and critical check on government power in Israel, which lacks a robust system of checks and balances." Israel has no written constitution, making the AG one of the only structural limits on executive action.

The AG had been warning this was coming for months. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in June: "Given the approach of the end of the current Knesset's term, a race has begun to eliminate democratic institutions." Lawmaker Gilad Kariv of the Democrats party filed an immediate High Court petition, calling the law "the cornerstone of the judicial overhaul" that "will place the government above the rule of law and shatter the delicate system of checks and balances in Israeli democracy."

The coalition has also threatened to defy the High Court. All of Israel's living former chief Supreme Court justices have warned: "Disobedience to court orders is the final nail in the coffin of democracy." President Isaac Herzog called any defiance "a red line that must not be crossed under any circumstances."

3. And Netanyahu Benefits Directly (Legal Critics, Al Jazeera, Washington Post, Israel Policy Forum)

The man who stood to gain the most from gutting the AG's power wasn't allowed in the room to vote.

This law guts the power of Netanyahu's own prosecutor. Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust across three cases. The allegations include accepting gifts from businessmen in exchange for political favors and striking regulatory deals for favorable media coverage. The criminal prosecutions run through the AG's office — the same office the Knesset just defanged. His conflict-of-interest arrangement legally bars him from voting on this, which is why he was absent.

The coalition already tried to fire the AG outright once. In August 2025, the government tried to dismiss Baharav-Miara — and the High Court blocked it. Critics argue the law achieves the same result as firing her — just more slowly, by emptying the role of its authority.

The ultra-Orthodox parties extracted concessions in exchange for their votes. They got commitments on religious policy and military draft exemptions for yeshiva students — unrelated to judicial reform.

Where This Lands

Netanyahu's coalition says the law corrects a democratic imbalance — an unelected official with power that no comparable democracy grants its legal adviser. Critics, including the AG herself, say Israel just removed its last real check on executive power: with no written constitution, the High Court is all that's left, and the coalition has already threatened to defy it too. The opposition has already filed High Court petitions. The law will take effect in January 2027.

Sources