T. Belman. Bennett is right to push for simple majority. It is not realistic to think that a 70 seat majority is attainable.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett blasts Supreme Court for judicial activism, says court now dominates executive branch.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) slammed the Supreme Court over its judicial activism, accusing it of assuming the role of the executive branch.
In an interview Sunday evening with Channel 2, Bennett justified his recent efforts to push legislation to empower the Knesset to override Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority – a bill opposed by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.
Earlier on Sunday, Bennett revealed plans to bring up his bill in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation next Sunday, despite efforts by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to delay a vote on the proposal.
While Mandelblit has suggested reforms which would limit the ability of the Supreme Court to nullify Knesset laws to rulings with a two-thirds majority and a minimum of nine judges ruling, as well as a clause permitting the Knesset to override court rulings with 70 votes in the 120-memebr Knesset, Bennett has pushed for a bill allowing the Knesset to override court decisions with a bare 61-vote majority in the Knesset.
The bill, popularly referred to as the “Override Clause”, would alter Israel’s Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty.
In the Channel 2 interview Sunday, Bennett explained the purpose of the bill, and why he believes it is critical to restore balance between the executive and judicial branches.
“The Supreme Court has taken the executive branch – the government. The Supreme Court doesn’t have the right to cross all the lines and grab power for itself, unless it’s an extraordinary situation.”
Bennett noted the unusually large number of laws passed by the Knesset which have been nullified by the Supreme Court in recent years.
“The court struck down the Infiltrator [Deportation] Law twice, blocking us from deporting [the infiltrators], and blocked us from expelling terrorists or demolishing their homes,” continued Bennett, referring to recent court decisions blocking the IDF from destroying the home of Omar al-Abed, who in July 2017 murdered three members of the Salomon family in their home in Neve Tzuf (Halamish) in Samaria.
The court also threw out in 2017 the first Infiltrator Law, aimed at deporting thousands of Eritrean, Somalian, and Sudanese illegal immigrants living in Israel. In 2018, the court froze implementation of a new Infiltrator Law, and in April, ordered the government to release more than 200 infiltrators who had been detained for refusing to leave the country.
“The Supreme Court has tossed out nearly 20 laws in the last few years, and that is outrageous,” continued Bennett.
“We want the Supreme Court to be able to nullify laws only in extraordinary circumstances. The Knesset will be able to pass laws a second time [after their nullification by the court] in a protected manner, with a special majority of 61 Knesset members. Only this way can we remove the infiltrators from Israel.”
Ordinarily, passage of new legislation requires only a majority of Knesset Members voting – typically less than 61 MKs, a majority of the full Knesset.
@ Russell:
You’ve hit the nail on its head. They have already taken over the Judiciary and the government along with it.
There is no government in Israel at this time, and if you were honest with yourself, you would realize that the antics of Barak only put icing on their cake.
@ Cathy:
I would suggest to Bennett, that he should propose to lead an exit from govt. and let THEM (his Likud and UTJ, Kahlon etc etc). colleagues persuade him to stay, by fighting the Supreme Court with all weapons. The major one is to pass a law stating the jurisdictional limits of the Supreme Court and a law that retro-actively nullifies all decisions on the disputed subjects, ALSO ignore any High Court decree about it as being beyond their mandate.. … Replace Mandelbilt . One of Mandelbilt’s duties is to represent the govt, in court. By openly opposing a proposed legal law passed by the Knesset, he has forfeited his position.
The above is scrappy and not orderly in it’s layout, I just jotted down thoughts as they came to me. So excuse the lack of proper continuity.
The balance of power is out of balance. Bennett is right- the court has taken too much power and Israel will soon be dysfunctional and ruled by unelected judges. Bennett’s bill needs to pass.
If the Government cannot function because of the power of the Supreme Court then the entire framework of democracy is undermined and government opposition only need to get control of the Judiciary to rule the country. This has to change and Bennet is correct.