The Knesset has approved the second and third readings of the law abolishing the reasonable standard in judicial review of decisions by elected officials and the government. The vote was 64 in favor and zero against, as the opposition boycotted the vote. Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant voted with the coalition despite a dispute with Minister of Justice Yariv Levin shortly before the vite.
Levin said immediately after the vote, "We have taken the first step in an historic process to amend the judicial system."
In his concluding speech in the debate on the bill, MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist party), who is chairperson of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, said, "We have become used to the idea that the important discussions do not take place in this house. This has to stop. The only way is that we make the decisions in the Knesset. The people elected by the public will make the decisions in the government. With responsibility goes authority.
"Stop misleading the public," Rothman added, addressing the opposition. "You are creating a sense of emergency that has no basis, Abolishing the reasonableness standard does not harm minorities, and does not harm the ability of the court to criticize decisions on the grounds of extraneous considerations."
Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) said in the debate, "It’s right to do what is good for the country, and not for ourselves. That is the government’s task. That is what it is not doing. There has never been such a show of disavowal of responsibility, irresponsibility as a policy and a world view. Running the country does not mean running your base. There are no easy answers. There is a certain reality. You are letting the country fall apart. If you vote for this bill today, you are weakening the State of Israel, the people of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces. I call from here on the moderate and sane people in the coalition, and they exist: take responsibility for the fate of the State of Israel. Take responsibility for its security, for its future, for our lives here as one people. You cannot vote for this bill."
MK Avigdor Liberman, chairperson of the Yisrael Beitenu party, said, "The prime minister was faced with alternatives: keeping the nation whole, and keeping the coalition whole, and he chose the coalition. This coalition is unworthy. When we return to power, all the changes and laws that you have passed by legislation or in government decisions - we’ll overturn all of them, we will not leave one stone upon another. Everything will be cancelled. We will not allow this craziness, will not allow Israel to be tuned into a halachic state. We will move towards the formulation of a constitution based on equal sharing of the burden, separation of religion and state, and a core curriculum."
In his winding up speech, Minister of Justice Yariv Levin said, "The bill laid before you is not the original bill I proposed in January, but comes after long months of public discussion unprecedented in its scope.
"The use of the reasonableness standard is not only a matter of world view and not a legal matter, but it allows a judge to do something else that has no place in a court of law: to make a decision that has no grounds, no criteria. Is it reasonable or not reasonable? According to what exactly? According to what measure? Where is the school of reasonableness where you can learn what is reasonable?"
Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) chairperson Arnon Bar-David has issued a statement saying, "Members of Knesset of all parties are at this very moment abandoning Israel’s citizens. This is the time to show responsibility for the nation. Israeli society is collapsing and divided. We call on all sides: come to your senses for the sake of the future of Israeli society." Some members of the Israel Business Forum, who closed their businesses today in sympathy with the protest against the judicial overhaul, expressed anger at Bar-David, saying that he had asked to them to pause their announcement of a shut-down, and promised that if the compromise plan that he proposed was not accepted, he would call a general strike. Other members of the forum, however, expressed understanding of Bar David’s position.
So far today, police have arrested twelve demonstrators taking apart in the thousands-strong protest outside the Knesset.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 24, 2023.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2023.