What happened: Today is the deadline for MKs who wish to serve on the Judicial Selection Committee to submit their candidacy. Tension remains high between the government and opposition both over that specific issue and the government’s plans for the judiciary in general.
- Justice Minister Yariv Levin is reportedly threatening to resign if the Likud overrules his plan to elect two coalition MKs to the committee and instead maintains the traditional framework of having one government and one coalition MK. Likud officials who spoke to Levin’s close associates said: “He is resolved to go all the way on the matter of the Judges Selection Committee, even at the price of the government falling.”
- Currently, four coalition MKs have submitted their candidacy to serve on the Selection Committee: Tally Gotliv and Nissim Vaturi of the Likud and Yitzhak Kroizer and Limor Sonn Har Melech of Jewish Power.
- Senior opposition member Benny Gantz warned that he would withdraw his party from talks at the President’s Residence should the coalition nominate two of its own candidates, describing the process as a “significant touchstone.” According to Gantz, if the coalition chooses two candidates, or fails to bring its representatives to the vote, “this means changing the rules of the game during negotiations.” Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid also vowed to leave talks at the Residence unless the Committee is convened in its current form.
- Meanwhile, US Vice President Kamala Harris last night referenced the ongoing controversy over the government’s plans to change the judiciary. At an event celebrating Israel’s 75th anniversary at the National Building Museum, Harris said “Under President Joe Biden and our administration, America will continue to stand for the values that have been the bedrock of the US-Israel relationship, which include continuing to strengthen our democracies, which… are both built on strong institutions, checks and balances — and I’ll add an independent judiciary.”
Context: At the core of the current disagreement is the composition of the Judges Selection Committee and whether, once its new members are elected, Levin will actually convene the Committee to select new justices.
- Control of the committee, and with it the power to elect new judges, is at the centre of Levin’s reform agenda. Two justices for the Supreme Court, including President Hayut, are due to retire at the end of October.
- The traditional format of the nine-person Committee includes two members of Knesset (one from the government and one from the opposition) as well as the justice minister and one other government minister, three Supreme Court justices, and two members of the Israel Bar Association (who are due to elect a new President on June 20). For a candidate to be appointed to the Supreme Court there needs to be broad agreement of seven out of the nine representatives on the Committee.
- Levin had previously tried to pass expanding the committee to eleven people, to include three ministers and three coalition lawmakers which would give the government an absolute majority on the committee. That reform remains frozen, but can be returned to the Knesset agenda to be passed into law with a day’s notice.
- The two Knesset representatives to the Committee have traditionally included one MK from the government and one from the opposition.
- Even if the Knesset selects one coalition and one opposition MK, it remains at Levin’s discretion whether to convene the Committee. Some believe Levin does not intend to convene the Committee as long as he believes that he will not be able to influence the choice of judges.
- The impending deadline has further revealed the apparent splits within the coalition on how to resolve the impasse over the reforms. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri, and others are thought to favour significant compromise with the opposition, while a faction including Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir seemingly favour pressing ahead with the far-reaching reforms proposed by Levin.
- The Labour Party has acted on National Unity Party Chairman Benny Gantz’s call to have the opposition unite in support of a single candidate for the Judges Selection Committee. The party announced that MK Efrat Rayten would not be running for a seat on the committee and that the party would vote for Yesh Atid MK Karin Elharar as the opposition’s candidate.
- Protests against the judicial reform continued on Saturday night for the 22nd consecutive week, as an estimated 95,000 demonstrated in Tel Aviv and other locations around the country.
Looking ahead: The secret ballot to appoint two MKs to the Selection Committee will take place on June 14.
- An emerging temporary solution is that several candidates from the coalition will announce they are running for a seat on the Judges Selection Committee, with a final decision over whom will actually stand to be made closer to June 14. This way, the sides will have another week to try to reach an agreement.
- Officials at the President’s Residence believe that the coalition will ultimately allow an opposition representative to be elected to the Judges Selection Committee.
- Meanwhile, while no formal talks are being held this week at the President’s Residence, intensive efforts are underway behind the scenes to find a compromise over the entire range of judicial reform issues.
- The more hard-line Levin and Knesset Constitution Committee chairman Simcha Rothman are opposed to the continuation of the talks with Rothman describing them as “meaningless.” The talks “shouldn’t have happened in the first place – the [judicial overhaul] legislation need to be resumed.”
- Rumours this week suggested the sides were close to a compromise that would have the committee convene in its traditional format in exchange for agreement on another issue under contention – giving the cabinet the authority to hire its own private lawyer to represent it in court when it disagrees with the legal opinion of legal advisers.
