Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman, after months of work, passed the final revision of the first component of the judicial reform proposals in committee, on Monday afternoon. The law is now ready to go to the Knesset for its second and third votes. The judicial reforms are a series of laws designed to reestablish the balance between the court and government branches that was uprooted by former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak.
This proposed law changes the structure of the committee that selects Supreme Court judges and ends the non-democratic situation where supreme court judges on the committee determine who is allowed onto the court, essentially self-selecting their ideological replacements. The proposed law puts the decision into the hands of the elected officials, as is done in all other democratic countries. The Supreme Court is fighting with all is strength to stop this from passing.
Throughout the committee’s deliberations, the opposition MKs crossed all red lines with their behavior, often acting like the anarchist protesters on the streets, yelling and chanting throughout the meetings. Last month, one of the opposition MKs jumped up on a table and physically charged at Rothman.
רוטמן ממשיך לקיים את ההצבעות,
פניהם לא לעצירה אלא להרדמה,
והשארת ישראל מדינת סף דיקטטורה. pic.twitter.com/X7XrbLftVF— ?? ?????? ??? (@iloveisraell) March 27, 2023
Towards the end of the meetings, Rothman thanked everyone for their work. He thanked the opposition MKs, saying that they had some good ideas hidden in between all their screaming and antics, and some of their positions were included too in the law, making it a balanced and fair law.
יו"ר ועדת חוקה, ח"כ שמחה רוטמן מודה בתום דיוני הועדה לאשתו וילדיו, "אני מקווה שאחרי שהחוק הזה יעבור נתראה קצת יותר". pic.twitter.com/RSixTT4ClJ
— חזקי ברוך (@HezkeiB) March 27, 2023
It is unclear if after last night’s anarchist riots, if Netanyahu will allow the bill to go to vote.
