Conquering the Knesset: How legal counsel paralyzes the legislative work

For decades, the basic democratic concept in Israel was clear. The public elects its representatives to the Knesset, and they are assisted by a professional team of jurists to translate policy into proper legislation. Legal counsel was supposed to serve as a professional aid, a compass that helps navigate the thicket of law and bureaucracy.

But the reality in the corridors of the Knesset these days is completely different. The film reveals how the tables have turned, and how legal counsel has transformed from a bench player who advises, into the dominant factor that actually dictates policy and actively limits the work of the legislative branch.

Creeping annexation of powers

This change did not happen in one day, and it certainly did not pass through orderly legislation. It is a creeping annexation of powers that were never officially granted to the legal advisor. Through quiet daily practices, opinions that have become a kind of binding instruction, and the alignment of the entire system, a reality has been created in which the legislative process depends almost entirely on the approval and consent of legal counsel. Policy researcher Noga Arbel describes the balance of terror that has been created:

"The Knesset legal advisor has so much power to interfere with a Knesset member in the performance of his duties, that a Knesset member who dares to say this will no longer be able to perform his duties."

Fear over the legislator

The direct result of this move is paralysis and the imposition of fear on Knesset members. Public representatives, who received the mandate from the citizens at the ballot box, find themselves afraid to confront the Knesset's legal system. Knesset member Galit Distel-Atbarian explains the meaning of these things in practice and describes the total dependence:

"And when you are a legislator, and the whole essence of your role is actually in the hands of legal counsel, you cannot pass legislation here without legal counsel."

According to her, Knesset members understand well the price of resisting the system: "Knesset members know that if there is a frontal 'clash' between them and the Knesset's legal counsel, it will harm them in the legislative process. When you have such a clash with the Knesset's legal counsel, you are in real trouble." This fear produces obedience, and this obedience hollows out the ability of the public representative to realize the promises for which he was elected.

The gap between rhetoric and reality

While legal counsel presents itself as a professional and supportive factor, a daily struggle for control is taking place beneath the surface. The Knesset legal advisor, Adv. Sagit Afik, sees her role as a necessary shield for Knesset members and declares:

"As someone who represents you both before the judiciary and before government ministries, to preserve your immunity, to preserve the broad freedom of speech that you have, to allow you to perform your role."

To the sharp criticism leveled at legal counsel, she responds firmly and demands alignment: "I think there is no place for this discourse in this house, I think it is a discourse that is exaggerated and that it would be appropriate to replace it with mutual respect for the authorities." But it seems that for the public representatives, that same "mutual respect for the authorities" has long since turned into complete surrender to the dictates of the jurists.