The Knesset approved on Wednesday in its first reading a bill that would significantly erode Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s authority over legal advisers to government ministries, in the government’s latest effort to weaken the authority of judicial officials.

The vote saw 58 MKs support the measure and 50 oppose it. The bill will now move to the Knesset House Committee to determine which committee it will be sent to for further discussion.

The bill, sponsored by Likud MK Avichai Boaron, would remove legal advisers working at various ministries from the jurisdiction of the attorney general to “strengthen their status and independence.”

Instead, legal advisers would be subordinate to the directors general of the ministries in which they serve, although they would still be permitted to consult with the attorney general.

“This bill is not an attack on the attorney general system, but an attempt to save it,” said Boaron.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the architect of the government’s planned........

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