Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana has not yet approved an exceptional procedure that coalition lawmakers say is needed to move the Communications Law forward, raising the possibility that one of the right-wing bloc’s flagship bills will stall before the current Knesset session ends.
A formal letter sent Tuesday to Ohana and the Knesset legal adviser says coalition members on the Communications Committee want the special mechanism activated to overcome the thousands of objections filed against the bill. The lawmakers say the proposal has received about 6,000 objections, and after three days of lengthy debate the committee had managed to vote on fewer than 1,000. In their view, at the current pace there is no practical way to finish the legislative process in time.
The signatories are lawmakers Tzvika Foghel, Ohad Tal, Osher Shkalim, Michel Buskila, Tzaga Malko, and Avi Maoz. They warn that without the extraordinary procedure, the bill may never complete its passage. Coalition sources accuse the opposition of deliberately dragging out the process, and say the delay is already harming the chances of passing the measure in the current session.
Criticism of Ohana has intensified as Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and MK Galit Distel Atbaryan push the bill through the committee while facing the wave of objections. One coalition source said, “You cannot talk about breaking communication monopolies on the one hand and let the opposition bury the law with thousands of objections on the other.” Ohana has not responded yet, and his office said a reply will be published when given.
