Israeli Coalition Passes Controversial Laws Facing Supreme Court Challenges Ahead of Elections

The Israeli Knesset concluded its session with an intense legislative blitz by the coalition, passing six major laws including the freeze on detention of draft dodgers, weakening the Attorney General's authority, and a Basic Law on Torah study. These laws have sparked significant legal challenges, with five petitions already filed to the Supreme Court. For example, a conditional injunction has been issued against the draft dodger detention freeze law, which is expected to be reviewed by a nine-justice panel likely to strike it down. The law weakening media regulations proposed by MK Karei is also anticipated to be invalidated. Additional petitions target laws mandating gender separation in academia, the Basic Law on Torah study, and the law undermining the Attorney General’s status, the latter set to take effect only after the next government forms. Political observers view this legislative push as a deliberate constitutional crisis ahead of the upcoming elections, which are seen as a referendum on these laws. Should the current coalition be re-elected, these measures may be just the beginning, whereas any new coalition is expected to repeal laws not overturned by the Supreme Court.