חוק מעמדן של ההסתדרות הציונית העולמית ושל הסוכנות היהודית לארץ-ישראל (תיקון מס' 2), התשע"ו–2015Status Law of the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel (Amendment No. 2), 2015 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

Official summary of the law (Knesset)

The Status of the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for the Land of Israel Law (Amendment No. 2), 2015 (hereinafter - the Law), enshrines the status of the Settlement Division (hereinafter - the Division) as one of the executive arms of the World Zionist Organization in the field of developing settlement in the Land of Israel, intended to realize the purpose of the World Zionist Organization. The Law enables the Government to delegate to the Settlement Division powers in the field of settlement, and in additional fields of activity in which the World Zionist Organization is engaged. The delegation of powers may only be made with the consent of the World Zionist Organization, and these powers cannot be delegated to the Settlement Division without the consent of the World Zionist Organization. In addition, the delegation of powers shall be carried out in an orderly and detailed manner in accordance with Government decisions and the policy to be determined, and in accordance with detailed agreements to be entered into between the Government and the Division. These agreements shall detail the framework of ongoing work between the Government and the Division, the projects and tasks to be carried out by the Division, the manner in which the Division shall be funded in accordance with the tasks assigned to it, and the arrangements for Government oversight and control of the Division's work. It should be noted that the delegation of powers under the Law does not make the Settlement Division part of the state authorities; rather, it shall remain a division within the World Zionist Organization. The Law clarifies the things that the Settlement Division shall be permitted to do in order to realize the powers delegated to it by the Government, including: allocating resources, carrying out planning and development actions, publishing tenders, operating a settlement guidance and advisory system, and more, all of which shall of course be done subject to Government decisions and the agreements between the Government and the Division. In addition, in the exercise of its powers, the Settlement Division shall be subject to the provisions of the Mandatory Tenders Law, 1992, according to which, whenever the Division wishes to carry out work or purchase goods or services, it shall be required to do so by tender in accordance with the provisions of the said Law. Furthermore, the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law, 1998, shall apply to the Settlement Division with regard to the management of the Division's financial affairs, so that the use of public funds transferred to the Division will be transparent.

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Sponsors

Bezalel Smotrich

What was said in the plenum

The law is intended to anchor in law the relationship between the Israeli government and the Settlement Division, which operates as an arm of the World Zionist Organization, and to allow the government to delegate to it powers in the field of settlement and additional areas subject to the agreement of the World Zionist Organization, while adding a requirement for tenders and freedom of information. The debate, held against the backdrop of the publication of a wedding video showing celebrants stabbing a photo of a murdered Palestinian baby, focused on the question of whether the law properly regulates a body that operates without transparency or oversight and transfers hundreds of millions of shekels mainly to settlements, or whether it actually anchors an illegal and discriminatory situation that led the Attorney General to demand the dismantling of the Division's funding arrangements.

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An automatic summary of the plenum transcripts: the debate on the bill at every reading it was voted on. Arguments are given as the speakers made them; this is not an assessment. The list of speakers comes from the transcript, without a model. A very long debate: every speech was shortened to the same length before summarising. Transcripts of the sittings: 1, 2, 3

Reservations to the second reading

55 reservations were filed: proposed changes to the text the committee brought to the second and third reading.

The reservations are mainly intended to narrow and limit the powers of the Settlement Division and the World Zionist Organization, to apply proper administration rules, transparency, tenders and oversight by the State Comptroller to them, and to ensure an equal distribution of resources among the regions of the country, as opposed to the wording that grants the Division extensive powers in the field of settlement without full oversight.

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By faction

• Yesh Atid opposition · 55 reservations · 11 members
• Meretz opposition · 53 reservations · 5 members
• Joint List opposition · 52 reservations · 13 members
• Zionist Union opposition · 18 reservations · 24 members
• Yisrael Beytenu opposition · 1 reservation · 1 member
• Kulanu coalition · 1 reservation · 1 member

A joint reservation counts for every faction whose members filed it.

Proposers and reservation numbers are extracted automatically from the committee version, and the count is checked against the numbers printed in it. The descriptions are an automatic summary. Committee version for the second and third reading (PDF)