Likud MK Yoav Kisch. (photo credit: Courtesy)
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked may block the Ministerial Committee for Legislation from approving any bills Sunday because Knesset House Committee chairman Yoav Kisch of the Likud has been obstructing all Bayit Yehudi bills.
The strife in the coalition is rooted in a longstanding dispute over child custody laws between Kisch and Bayit Yehudi faction chairwoman Shuli Moalem-Refaeli, who has the support of lawmakers in the coalition and opposition.
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Last week, Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that no laws would pass in the ministerial committee, of which Shaked is chairwoman, unless Kisch allows the “Ariel University bill” to pass.
The “Ariel University bill” would have the Council of Higher Education law apply to the university, even though it is over the Green Line. Other non-university colleges in the West Bank would still fall under the Judea and Samaria Council for Higher Education.
Although Kisch has been an outspoken advocate of applying Israeli laws to the West Bank, which the “Ariel University bill” would do to some extent, he has taken advantage of his position as House Committee chairman, presiding over all Knesset procedural matters to block all of Bayit Yehudi’s bills.
The source of the dispute between Kisch and Bayit Yehudi is a bill changing the age of automatic custody for mothers of children in case of divorce.
The law currently states that mothers of children under the age of six get custody in a divorce. Kisch, adopting a bill proposed by Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel before she became a minister, sought to eliminate automatic custody entirely and allow judges to decide who gets custody according to what’s best for the child. Some of automatic custody’s opponents argue that age six has become a deadline by which mothers try to get divorced, and that it reflects an outdated view on parenting.
When Kisch’s bill came to a vote in 2015, several women in the coalition, including Moalem-Refaeli, refused to vote for it, saying it turns children into a bargaining chip and weakens women’s standing in divorce proceedings, and that young children need greater stability in their lives.
In May 2017, the Knesset passed a compromise version of the bill in a preliminary reading, which lowered the age of automatic custody to two. Then-coalition chairman David Bitan (Likud) said the final age of automatic custody would be determined by professional recommendations.
The bill has not made any progress, with Kisch saying he would not allow automatic custody to be for children over age two, and Moalem-Refaeli pointing to Welfare Ministry representatives who think it should be at least up to age four. The Chief Rabbinate seeks to keep things as they are.
Kulanu MK Rachel Azaria accused Kisch on Monday of trying to push his preferred version of the bill through against the coalition’s agreement to go according to professional assessments.
“This move will hurt children who need stability during a traumatic divorce process,” Azaria said. “The Welfare Ministry’s stance is clear. A three-year-old needs one main parent and cannot wander between homes when parents don’t agree. I won’t let threats influence the legislative work and hurt children who need protection and stability.”
Meanwhile, Kisch, who was supposed to move to the chairmanship of the Knesset Interior Committee, said he refuses to budge from the House Committee until the child custody bill passes a first reading.
In the past few years, divorced fathers organized a pressure group in support of canceling the custody law, with hundreds joining the Likud.
Moalem-Refaeli has received death threats from divorced fathers over her stance.