The ministerial committee responsible for setting the government’s position on bill proposals, chaired by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, green-lit on Sunday a controversial bill that would enable newly elected governments sweeping powers to replace key senior officials during their first 100 days.
The proposal will now head to the Knesset for preliminary voting, but is unlikely to proceed prior to the approximately three-month summer recess set to begin on July 27, due to a boycott on plenum voting by the government’s haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties.
The positions affected include high-ranking figures such as the attorney-general, the heads of the IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Mossad, Israel Police, Israel Prison Service, the civil service commissioner, the Finance Ministry Budget Department head, and board members of government-owned companies.
According to the bill, proposed by Otzma Yehudit MKs Zvika Fogel and Yitzhak Kreuzer and Likud MKs Moshe Passal, Dan Illouz, Osher Shekalim, and Ariel Kallner, officials who have completed at least two-thirds of their term may be dismissed by a government decision within its first 100 days.
Those who have served for less time could also be removed under defined circumstances, such as professional misconduct, deep disagreements with the government’s direction, or previously unknown facts that would have disqualified them from the role.
The law proposes safeguards that, according to its preamble, will prevent politically motivated firings in cases where the officials have served less than two-thirds of their term: dismissed officials must be granted the right to a hearing, and the government must provide a written, reasoned justification. Any dismissal must be approved by a majority of Knesset members.
The proposal also grants the government the power to overturn “institutional decisions” made by dismissed officials, with the approval of the attorney-general or their substitute.
According to the preamble, “The purpose of the law is to allow a new government to make personnel changes in key positions so that it can implement its policy optimally, while maintaining necessary balances through Knesset approval and preserving institutional stability and respect for lawful decisions.”
The ministerial committee’s decision included a caveat, which is that the bill will only include the IDF chief of staff if the defense minister approves it. The caveat was entered due to reservations issued in the meeting by a representative of the Defense Ministry.
Direct opposition to the bill by deputy attorney-general
In a letter to Levin published prior to the ministerial committee’s meeting on Sunday, Deputy Attorney-General Gil Limon strongly opposed the bill.
Limon argued that the bill would politicize the key positions included in it, some of whom serve as gatekeepers of law, security, and democratic norms. By allowing the government not only to terminate their tenure but also to retroactively override their decisions, the bill dismantles existing legal safeguards designed to maintain their autonomy and professionalism, Limon reasoned.
According to Limon, existing procedures for ending tenure involve clear criteria and consultation with independent professional committees, which serve as a bulwark against arbitrary or politically motivated dismissals. The proposed law would override these mechanisms, granting the government near-complete control without requiring a factual or legal basis.
Limon stressed that this shift would erode the separation between professional and political authority, compromising not only legal and administrative integrity but also public trust in government institutions. The effect would be a chilling one, discouraging officials from offering independent assessments that may conflict with political agendas, and jeopardizing good governance and rule of law.
“The proposal seeks to transform Israel’s public service from an independent, state-based, and apolitical system into one fully controlled by the political echelon. This change would result in a public service based on personal trust and loyalty to the appointing authority, rather than to the public,” Limon wrote.
“The government will, in effect, become the attorney-general, the chief of staff, the head of the Shin Bet, and so on – regarding decisions it wishes to change retroactively. This effectively nullifies the independent judgment of these roles and enables political interference in their powers.
“The government will not merely be above the law – it will become the law,” Limon warned.
Following the bill’s passing the ministerial committee, National Security Minister and Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir said, “I welcome the approval of the law proposal by the Ministerial Committee, introduced by my colleague MK Zvika Fogel – an important step toward strengthening governance and returning responsibility to the hands of the government elected by the public.
“The law enables a new government to dismiss any senior official in the state during the first 100 days of its term, including the attorney-general, following unanimous support from all ministers who emphasized it as a crucial measure for restoring governance – similar to what happens in [President Donald] Trump’s United States.”
Ben-Gvir continued, “The government cannot continue to be shackled by senior officials appointed by previous administrations who block every initiative of the current one. From now on, an elected government will be able, within a limited period and under clear conditions, to ensure alignment between the elected leadership and the executive level. This is an important day for Israeli democracy – a day when true trust is given to the leadership chosen to implement policy.”
Ben-Gvir’s comments echoed an oft-repeated theory pushed by a number of government ministers, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to which senior professional officials, known collectively as the “deep state,” were intentionally blocking their policies to trip up the government and lead to its downfall. These accusations have been leveled at different points against the A-G, the heads of the IDF and Shin Bet, the state attorney, the Finance Ministry Budget Department head, and many others.
The A-G and officials have argued in response that in thousands of decisions they assisted the government, and in the dozens of cases where they opposed the government, they did so because the government’s policies were illegal.
Limon in his letter warned against a series of bills in recent weeks intended to “reshape Israel’s public service – from an independent, national, and apolitical institution as it was designed since the state’s founding, into one that is fully controlled by the political echelon.
“Just from recent weeks, examples include proposals to overturn a Supreme Court ruling on appointing the civil service commissioner, to weaken the independence of the attorney-general, to eliminate senior appointments committees, and to abolish professional qualifications for politically affiliated directors in government companies,” Limon wrote.
“Each of these proposals, and certainly all of them combined, seeks to fundamentally change the nature of Israel’s public service and effectively turn it into one based on personal trust and loyalty to the appointing authority, rather than to the public.
“Such a shift would seriously harm the quality of service provided to citizens. It would deter professional staff from presenting facts, data, and expert opinions to political leaders. It would allow sectoral and political considerations to seep into the professional ranks. The civil service would become partisan – an extension of the ruling government’s personal apparatus.”