Israeli Judicial Reform – a Good Start

Israeli Judicial Reform – a Good Start

Israel’s governing coalition headed by PM Benjamin Netanyahu passed the first of its legal reform provisions, restricting the Supreme Court’s use of striking down government or executive decisions they did not like –though these did not violate the rule of law, as embodied in “the Basic Laws” that govern Israel in the absence of a formal constitution — on the subjective ground of “extremely unreasonable.” This Judicial Reform was long needed.

After the summer recess, the governing coalition would continue its Judicial Reform, addressing the Supreme Court selection process, which currently allows the sitting Supreme Court judges to veto new justices not to their liking. In time, the Judicial Reform will focus on the Court’s (unprecedented elsewhere) capacity to hear cases from plaintiffs without any legal standing and claims that have yet to go through the normal appeals process. In time, the reform process will focus on the Attorney General(AG) selection process and the selection process of all legal counsels throughout the various ministries, who have the power to overrule government decisions. In the US, for example, the AG and the legal counsel are appointed by the President to advise, not to judge.

Judicial Reform is needed in Israel because the Supreme Court has taken on more and more power since then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak slowly began changing/expanding the Court’s capacity in 1992.

Finally, after over 30 years, the Executive and Legislative branches seek to regain the proper balance, with appropriate checks and balances, as in the United States.

Unfortunately, the minority but loud and well-funded opposition parties, in conjunction with the Progressive Democrat-led US Administration, have sought to use this crucial Judicial Reform to confuse the public and lay the ground for a regime change so they can regain power, after decisively losing the last election. The wild demonstrations they have been organizing show they use the governing coalition’s Judicial Reform as a ruse. They fight the democratic process of the rightful legislator – the Knesset, to depose the Netanyahu-led coalition government, whose election as Prime Minister they have rejected all along. Since yelling “Power” won’t work, they deceitfully scream, “Democracy”, as it sounds better.

The governing coalition must better educate the Israeli public this fall, so it will be less susceptible to the purposeful slander and misrepresentations of the power-grabbing minority opposition whose numerous false narratives were soundly rejected only six months ago.

The Israeli police must be allowed to arrest the insurrectionist leaders of the mass illegal protests that dangerously block major highways and roads, endangering the lives of citizens, shutting down businesses, and creating chaos.

We can only hope that the unelected Israeli Supreme Court removes its support for this dangerous, illegal, and treasonous insurrection by finally accepting the right of a duly elected majority government to rule. That is what democracy is all about!