Since the opening of the Knesset’s winter session last week, Oct. 14, newspaper headlines, news websites, radio and TV talk shows have been full of reports of revolutionary legislative initiatives from the right and left of the coalition.

All these pretentious initiatives have two things in common: The first is populism that is intended to take over the agenda of a government plagued by contradictory interests — a preparation of sorts for the next elections — and the second is that they have little chance of actually passing. In the meantime, everyone benefits: Those proposing the initiatives get huge headlines, and those opposing them get to fight heroically against bills that will never pass.

It started with Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni, who is proposing the initiation of a revolution in the relationship between religion and state in Israel through a series of bills. Livni, who in addition to championing the diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinians is trying to distinguish herself in the Netanyahu government as the leader of the civic-liberal faction, made sure to get the leading headline in Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth on Oct. 15, where the public learned about the “secular reforms” of the Justice Minister. According to the report, Livni is promoting a long series of bills on the issue of religion and state, such as a premarital agreement that would reduce the number of people denied a divorce (accorded in Israel solely by religious courts), and the “cohabitation law” which would grant equal rights to couples who cannot be registered to be married at the rabbinate.

The ultra-Orthodox protested, of course; Livni was interviewed also in other news outlets, and for a few hours, Israel experienced a “political storm.” Unfortunately, the question of the feasibility of such a reform in the current coalition was missing from the debate. Livni hinted that she has the support of the Yesh Atid party, something that cannot be taken for granted. The party’s chairman, Yair Lapid, has his own civic legislation agenda, and the chance that he’d let Livni drive this agenda in the government is slim.