4 MKs vote against bill which would give politicians more say over Judicial Selection Committee. MK Danon calls bill a ‘capitulation.’
Levin and NetanyahuYonatan Sindel/Flash90
The Likud faction on Monday evening voted to approve the coalition’s changes to the Judicial Selection Committee which selects the justices of the Supreme Court. Four MKs voted against the measure, Danny Danon, David Amsalem, Moshe Saada, and Moshe Passal.
Likud said after the vote that “the faction voted overwhelmingly in favor of the law that restores the balance in the Judicial Selection Committee and eliminates the undemocratic situation in which the judges appoint themselves.”
“This system whereby public representatives elect judges is accepted in almost all democracies in the world. The claim that ending the system through which judges appoint themselves is the end of democracy is baseless. The law does not allow the coalition or the opposition to take over the court, but guarantees that there will be diversity in the composition of the judges,” the faction said.
Likud MK Danny Danon explained why he voted against the outline, calling the softened bill a capitulation to the opposition while the opposition parties refuse to negotiate. “Outline? Yes. Compromise? Yes. Capitulation? No and no. From the first moment I made it clear that I support the reform. The people gave us a clear mandate to make a change in the judicial system, and I said that I would fully support it. I thought that it was possible and necessary to compromise for the sake of the idea of unity, but compromising does not mean capitulation.”
“Unfortunately, in the last few days and weeks, we have witnessed the poor conduct of the coalition, outlines of coalition partners being pulled out in the dead of night, zigzagging from 0 to 100 and from 100 to 0. It is wrong to give up on core issues when there is no broad agreement. It is clear to everyone that our steps today will only make the struggle worse and further the delegitimization of the people’s democratic choice. If the move would lead to a broad agreement, it would be right to consider significant concessions. Now we are left with a glorious retreat and without any agreements. It’s a waste,” he added.
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid responded to the Likud vote and said: “The Yariv Levin government continues to lie to the Israeli public. If the change in the Judicial Selection Committee passes, it will be a hostile and dangerous takeover of the judicial system by unscrupulous politicians. This will not lead to diversity in the judicial system, It will simply become a branch of the Likud Center. There is no mechanism anywhere in the world that even mentions this disgraceful proposal.”
“With their own hands they are leading Israel into a terrible constitutional crisis that will destroy the economy, harm security, crush our international relations and tear the Israeli people apart,” Lapid said.
From the media we keep hearing that Iran is the top priority to Bibi. All the distractions of Israeli meshugahness will not solve the Iran dilemma. We all need to support the government while it does what is necessary to save the nation from whatever Iran thinks it is capable of doing. Personally, I want the court to be changed so that it reflects the majority of voters. To say that it is Likud forever makes no sense. If the left wins an election and a judge retires during the left’s term, they have a say in the replacement judge. It’s ultimately up to the voters and it’s time the left realizes that in a democracy, one side wins and one side doesn’t. Go forth and learn. Democracy is not for the weak and foolish.
pdale5 Danton. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/295924-il-nous-faut-de-l-audace-encore-de-l-audace-toujours-de
So far this danse macabre has been profitable for me. A friend and I had a bet about Bibi’s buckling–how long it would be. So far, I have added lucre to my purse. One should always remember Saint-Just’s motto: De l’audace, de l’audace, encore de l’audace! Daring, Daring and still more daring.
What I find most distressing is that there is absolutely no move at all from the left minority. They are happy to stir up extreme unrest but with no thought of compromise or alternative policies. That the unrest has reached members of the Knesset is no surprize: they need a new motivation speech from Bibi but for whatever reason, he has accepted the AG’s gag order. I have not seen any explanation for that or justification for the gag order. If anyone can explain this, please do! What would happen if Bibi were to ignore the gag order on grounds (like the Supreme court) of unreasonableness.
Big mistake.