Netanyahu’s Government Launches Renewed Drive to Reshape Israel’s Legal System

After wartime unity fades, the coalition’s “governance and democracy” campaign signals a strategic return to the pre-war judicial overhaul — with expanded powers for the prime minister and tighter control over state institutions.

The opening of the Knesset’s winter session on Monday marked the formal return of one of the most divisive domestic agendas in Israel’s history: the attempt to curb judicial independence and expand the government’s authority.

In coordinated moves across ministries and committees, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is preparing a multi-stage plan that officials privately describe as the “second phase” of the judicial revolution. This phase, unlike last year’s overt constitutional clash, is designed to be incremental, fast-moving, and packaged under the language of “governance, stability, and democratic efficiency.”

Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Constitution Committee Chair Simcha Rothman, the two architects of the original overhaul, have reemerged at the forefront of the agenda. “The coalition must unite and advance legislation that strengthens governance and democracy,” Levin declared before the opening plenary — a phrase now recognized as a political code for a new round of systemic change.

 Rebalancing Power Toward the Executive

According to government insiders and coalition statements, the future legislative plan centers on three main objectives:

1. Consolidating Executive Power:

   • Enabling the government to replace top officials within its first 100 days — including the Attorney General, IDF Chief of Staff, heads of the Shin Bet and Mossad, and the Police Commissioner.

   • Eliminating the advisory committees that vet senior appointments, transferring direct authority to the cabinet.

2. Restructuring Judicial Oversight:

   • Splitting the Attorney General’s position into two roles — a political legal adviser and a separate state prosecutor, effectively severing the current independent chain of prosecution.

   • Introducing a computer-generated randomization system for judge assignments, replacing the Supreme Court President’s discretion — a move critics say aims to neutralize President Yitzhak Amit.

   • Narrowing judicial immunity and limiting the High Court’s ability to intervene in executive decisions.

3. Controlling the Public and Civic Sphere:

   • The “Jewish Identity Bill” would require state institutions to display religious symbols, install mezuzot, and test judges on Jewish law as a prerequisite for appointment.

   • Calls for refusal of military service would be reclassified as sedition, punishable by up to five years in prison.

   • The exemption framework for ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) yeshiva students would be codified, with only partial future enlistment quotas.

Netanyahu’s Legal Shield and the Road Ahead

At the political core of the plan lies a proposal by MK Ariel Kellner (Likud) allowing ministers to delay criminal trial hearings for security reasons during wartime or emergencies — effectively giving the Justice and Defense Ministers the ability to slow down Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial. The measure is justified publicly as ensuring that “the prime minister can devote his time to managing national affairs.”

Legal experts and opposition figures warn that, taken together, the initiatives amount to a quiet constitutional transformation — replacing the balance of powers with a prime-ministerial system dominated by the executive branch.

“The government isn’t reviving the judicial overhaul — it’s institutionalizing it,” said a former senior Justice Ministry official. “What was once a political crisis is now being repackaged as a governance reform.”

A Return to Pre-War Politics

The shift marks a stark political reversal less than a year after the October 7 attacks, when the government called for unity and suspended controversial domestic reforms. “Iron Swords — out, Legal Revolution — back in,” one coalition adviser quipped privately.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana reignited tensions by declaring that the new Supreme Court President “is a supreme judge, and nothing more.” President Isaac Herzog swiftly intervened, condemning the “disrespect to the judiciary,” while Netanyahu offered a carefully balanced statement affirming both the court’s authority and his own primacy: “Justice Amit is the Supreme President — but I am the Prime Minister. These are the facts.”

The Coming Battles

Civil society organizations, opposition MKs, and former judicial officials are preparing for what they call “the storm after the storm.” With the Gaza war winding down and public attention shifting inward, they expect the coalition to accelerate legislation through committee stages before organized resistance can regroup.

The Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee is expected to begin debating the first set of bills next week, followed by a broader “governance package” in December. Several of the measures could be voted into law before the end of the winter session — reshaping Israel’s political and legal landscape before the next election cycle.

Analysis: The Second Revolution

Where the 2023 judicial overhaul sought to curtail judicial review, the 2025 plan aims to embed permanent political control over the system. It uses procedural and administrative levers — appointments, committee structures, and trial schedules — rather than headline-grabbing constitutional amendments.

If fully implemented, analysts say, the program would transform Israel from a system of checks and balances into one of hierarchical authority, with the Prime Minister and cabinet at its apex.

“The first revolution failed because it was frontal,” said one political analyst. “The second one will come quietly, file by file, appointment by appointment.”