Israel’s Knesset Reconvenes Amid Controversial Judicial Reforms, Budget Negotiations

The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, reopened on Sunday for its summer session after a four-week recess. Amid a backdrop of social unrest regarding the coalition’s proposed judicial reforms, the government is tasked with passing a state budget. If they fail to pass the trillion-shekel ($275 billion) two-year budget by the end of May, the Knesset will be dissolved, triggering new elections.

The proposed budget, brought forward by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, will increase annual spending by 32 billion shekels ($8.8 billion) compared to 2022 and is expected to increase the national deficit. Some lawmakers, even those on the right, have criticized the proposed budget for not addressing the rising cost of living in Israel.

The controversial proposed judicial reforms are expected to color the upcoming budget negotiations. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has yet to say how he plans to move forward with the reforms, which have been frozen for the past month following widespread public outcry and a brief general strike. During the Knesset recess, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets for multiple protests both for and against the reforms.

In addition to the attempt to pass a budget and the discussion of the judicial reforms, this session of Knesset is expected to be characterized by debates about modifying the exemption from mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox Israelis and about the status of Zionism as a “guiding value” for government decisions, among other issues.