The government is expected to approve on Sunday the appointment of the retired chief justice Uri Shoham as chairman of the committee for senior appointments in the civil service.
Ministers from the Religious Zionism Party have announced that they intend to vote against his appointment.
Party officials say they are opposed to the eight-year appointment period, and to the very existence of the mechanism by which the approval of a retired supreme court justice is required for government appointments.
Ministers from the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party are also expected to oppose the appointment in light of Shoham's history with Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef. Shoham has attempted to terminate Yosef's tenure following some of the rabbi's statements and conduct.