Peloni: The primacy of addressing judicial reform presents itself in every aspect of society, politics, law and geopolitics. As I have noted for a very long time, this topic will be remedied by this govt or the next, as the political support for doing so emanated from the people and not the political elites. Better sooner than later, but sooner or later, this very damaging issue will be resolved.
Netanyahu acknowledges court president but demands respect for gov’t as well
If the opening of the Knesset’s winter session is any indication, Israel is in for another highly contentious legislative period.
The first session on Monday already descended into shouting and mutual accusations of illegitimacy, after Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana refused to address Supreme Court President Isaac Amit by that title, instead merely referring to him as a “judge.”
President Isaac Herzog pointedly corrected him in his speech, before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the reality that Amit was now president, but in turn also called for the judicial system and the opposition to recognize the government’s legitimacy.
The background to this is the ongoing desire in the coalition to push through parts of the judicial reform and the heated opposition and protests against it.
The coalition argues that the judicial system has too much power while actively trying to curb the powers of the democratically elected government, while the opposition parties accuse the government of removing any limitations on its authority in an anti-democratic way.
Large parts of the coalition do not recognize Amit as the court president, after he was elected in direct opposition to attempts by Justice Minister Yariv Levin to change the election process and nominate another, more conservative judge.
Ohana, therefore, did not invite Amit, as well as Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom the coalition wants to dismiss, to the Knesset speech by U.S. President Donald Trump two weeks ago.
Ohana’s new snub of Amit in his opening speech on Monday caused angry chants by opposition MKs. In the end, the speaker expelled several lawmakers from the Yesh Atid and Democrats parties.
In his speech, Ohana expressed “deep concern for democracy and for the status of the legislative branch,” bemoaning the “trampling of the Knesset by the judicial system [as] a severe blow to Israeli democracy.”
“It is my public duty as Knesset Speaker to warn the public – your ballot in the ballot box is being worn down. It is losing power and meaning because of the conduct of the judicial system,” he summed up one of the coalition’s main concerns.
“I believe this war has proven that when we act together there is no limit to achievement… We are open to dialogue with the judiciary, which until now has refused to talk or agree to compromises, even the most moderate ones,” Ohana said.
With the speaker sitting beside him, Herzog then took the podium, foregoing his planned speech to defend the judiciary: “My heart is bleeding, because there’s a difference between a principled debate, which is certainly legitimate, and contains legitimate opinions, versus lack of courtesy, harming human dignity, harming the dignity of the other branches of government, and harming the dignity of Israel’s judges.”
Noting that two soldiers and a released hostage body were being buried that day, Herzog said, “we cannot ignore [the direction] in which we are dragging ourselves as a nation, strangling each other and behaving with disrespect.”
“I am not willing to accept a situation of lack of basic respect, as the people of Israel, instead of dealing with the truly important issues, deal with the question of whether the President of the Supreme Court will be invited or not, and under which title.”
Herzog called on the coalition to determine outstanding issues through legislation of a new basic law, “But what does that have to do with basic lack of courtesy and breaking codes and traditions that have existed for decades?”
“We can behave with restraint, courtesy and responsibility, or we can continue to poke each other’s eyes out, while our combatants are in Gaza and their families are on the home front. So I am crying out to high heaven here, and saying to everyone, it’s enough,” said President Herzog.?
After him, Netanyahu rose to speak, acknowledging that “Isaac Amit is the President of the Supreme Court, that is a fact… but I am the Prime Minister of Israel, those are my ministers, this is the Knesset speaker and these are the MKs – that is also a fact.”
“These facts need to be recognized from every side, not just one side.”
This statement drew angry reactions from some members of Netanyahu’s coalition, Channel 12 reported. Justice Minister Levin was cited as telling Likud colleagues later that if Netanyahu recognizes Amit, “let him allow him to appoint a state inquiry committee,” which is a demand from the opposition that Netanyahu has rejected.
The prime minister continued to call for unity in the nation, noting that it “will never be absolute – but as I told our enemies, do not mistake us; at the decisive moment we will stand together like a fortress.”
Netanyahu called for compromises and substantial debates but “not with violence and threats of murder against elected officials, the prime minister and his family, and ministers’ families.”
Touching on several other topics in his speech, Netanyahu reiterated that “The relationship with the U.S. has never been as close and intimate as it is now.”
Regarding a new IDF conscription law, the premier vowed to present a new proposal in this Knesset session, which will “enlist 10,000 Haredim.”
The supreme court is an board of judges elected at this point in time by the judiciary who are themselves not elected by anyone. This means that the supreme court is nothing more than a select club where only judges are allowed in that the judiciary permit. This board of judges has taken upon itself to decide if the government, elected by all of the population of Israel, can make decisions that may conflict with the personal opinions of these judges, and if they detect a conflict of any kind, they strike down the decision made by the government.
This may sound ridiculous or even childish but the fact is that they have struck down laws that passed 3 readings in the Knesset (the procedure used in the Knesset to determine new laws) which means that the government has been wasting its time. The law should have been brought before the supreme court to gain its blessing rather than being read 3 times before the Knesset.
Taking this one step further, if the supreme court can decide on its own which laws are upheld by the state of Israel and which are not, we only need a bunch of people who propose laws to the supreme court.
All proposals for compromise, for example that a limited number of members of Knesset be included in the selection process and that this should be the case starting with the next elected coalition of government have already been refused and rebuked by the supreme court and their most active AG who permanently oversteps her bounds to deny the elected government any progress in activities the supreme court disagrees with. By the way, the AG was elected to her position by the previous unsuccessful government and so far, the government has not been allowed to fire her. The mention that she was extremely supportive of the previous coalition government need not really be mentioned.
One of the most strident arguments brought to bear by the supreme court and the AG and the opposition is that Netanyahu is still being heckled before a court on charges which would likely be dismissed immediately if he were to resign and go home and enjoy life instead of trying to save the country from the 7 front war he is currently managing. It is quite ridiculous and childish (as before) that the prime minister has to personally spend the amount of time in court that the judges demand of him (for the benefit of the state and public interest). Considering the charges brough against him and the punishment allotted to him in the case that he is actually found guilty of anything, this judicial theater can only appear as comedy around the country and the world. The chances that DJT’s suggestion to pardon him would probably not be accepted by the court or by Netanyahu who would then appear to be a pardoned criminal and, of course, no longer a valid choice as prime minister. The fact that more than 50% of the population wants to retain him is unimportant in the view of the judiciary.
The unceasing demonstrations against the government and its prime minister have gone on long enough. It’s time for the war to be brought to an end and for the court to be reigned in to its intended function of justice for those who deserve it rather than, as is often the case, to every man and his dog that feel that they have a complaint against the country whether they are citizens or not. The court is overloaded with cases that the judges like to choose amongst to spend their time on. There are too many rumors on a large number of online sites that mention that all these demonstrations are extremely well managed and paid for by foreign entities. There may well be fire where so much smoke is being produced and it is not quite clear who is generating the smoke.