Coalition Pushes Controversial Bills Ahead of Election

As the 25th Knesset heads into its final weeks before elections, the coalition is rushing through a slate of contentious bills that critics say will deepen sectoral politics, widen inequality, weaken oversight, and erode democratic checks and balances.

Among the most advanced measures is a bill subsidizing daycare for children in families where the father does not enlist, with eligibility determined by the mother’s status. It passed a preliminary vote in May 2026 and is now being discussed in the Finance Committee. Another proposal seeks to enshrine Torah study as a basic national value and give equal rights to soldiers and Torah scholars, a move opponents say would give constitutional backing to draft exemptions.

The coalition is also advancing legislation to roll back the kashrut reform and restore broad authority to the Rabbinate, to tighten control over the Western Wall by barring mixed prayer and empowering the Chief Rabbinate, and to extend regular IDF service for men to 36 months. The IDF has warned that if the service law is not approved, shortages of fighters and troops will continue.

On the enforcement and judicial front, the Knesset approved a law on June 11, 2026, removing the Police Internal Investigations Department from the State Attorney’s Office and placing it under the Justice Ministry, and first-reading bills are moving ahead to weaken judicial review and split the attorney general’s role from the state prosecutor. The government is also pushing major media legislation, including a broadcasting overhaul and a bill that would let the communications minister determine ratings oversight and require real-time viewership data from providers. Additional measures would let a public committee set the salaries of top officials, including judges, and would create a politically balanced commission to investigate the October 7 massacre instead of a state commission.