Realizing Israel’s Supreme Court enjoys the ultimate authority, the Bayit Yehudi party in ongoing coalition negotiations with Likud representatives are including a demand for legislation that will curb the High Court’s power. Too often cabinet minsters and MKs are frustrated when the nation’s highest court disqualifies or circumvents a bill passed into law by Knesset or the Cabinet. This often leads to a cat and mouse game in which the Knesset then tries to bypass the High Court ruling and the process continues. Bayit Yehudi officials feel the judicial body must be compelled by law to distance itself from the legislative body. The High Court has become the favorite venue of the Israeli left and right when seeking override a Knesset decision.
Such legislation will compel introducing and passing an exception to Israel’s Basic Law, which serves in place of a constitution. This law, which guarantees human dignity and liberty grants the court its authority.
Bayit Yehudi MK Ayelet Shaked introduced such a bill in the 19th Knesset, and that bill was approved by the Ministerial Judicial Committee but the ultra-liberal Justice Minister Tzipi Livni used her authority to scrap the bill. Realizing the only real way to change the left-wing Israeli judicial system is by appointing right-wing and religious justices, Bayit Yehudi is also demanding representation on the committee which appoints the nation’s judges.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
If the independence of the judiciary is compromised, that is the end of Israel as a free society. The Founding Fathers of the United States wrote quite eloquently on the importance of an independent judiciary to a free society as it is the last bastion of protection for individuals against tyranny of the majority.
Here he is right, the Supreme Court system has to change. it must be more similar to the US system since it is mainly a left wing institution that perpetuates itself by appointing their own members. it should be appointed by the PM and ratified by the Knesset. There has to be guidelines as to what they can do.
this could be good vis a vis the draft law
the whole reason this started is because the supreme court deemed the law unconstitutional
about time!the High Court is the strongest power base for the secular, anti-religious, leftist, elitist, Ashkenazi
paternalistic bums who used to run this country and tried to make all Israeli jews in their image.They are a minority in Israel and we must stop them from destroying Israel with their pipedreams of giving up Israel for “peace” with radical,racist muslims!
1. The Supreme Court is the pillar of the Israeli establishment. It is the only state institution (Jewish Agency and Jewish National Fund are technically not government, and the universities are also self-governing – merely quasi-public) that is still controlled by the zionist elite that founded the medinah – the last bastion of militant left-wing (originally socialist), secular Ashkenazim. Changing to a system in which the elected representative of the people appointed judges (at all levels) would totally undermine the idea of a judiciary charged with preserving an entrenched elite that has already lost control over most of Israel’s government (e.g. one frequently fines non-secular and non-Ashkenazi officers in the army, albeit rarely in the top positions).
2. The Israeli “constitution” is similar to that of the UK, and unlike that of the United States, in that it can be amended easily to overrule a Supreme Court decision, which is frequently done. Bennett’s problem is that on the specific issues he finds objectionable, he hasn’t managed to get the 61 votes needed.
3. The easiest way to change the Israeli judiciary would be to have the President (on advice of the Prime Minister) appoint judges, subject to Kenesset confirmation.
The high court judges are appointed in Israel like Stalin used to appoint the judges.Meretz who got 4% of the vote controls the appointment of the judges.These judges are traitors with zero professional integrity who want to destroy Israel and everything in jewish in the country.In any normal country they would be in jail for high treason .
The new government must fire each of these judges and appoint new judges like the USA and Canada.
It’s about time. I hope it goes through. The Leftist courts have been a major source of the internal problems we face.
“The Founding Fathers of the United States wrote quite eloquently on the importance of an independent judiciary to a free society as it is the last bastion of protection for individuals against tyranny of the majority.”
correct, and they wrote the importance of the power of congress as a check and balance to the power of the president
charliehall:
By your standards, the United States hasn’t been a free society since the Brits left. Unlike Israel, American judges are all political appointees, either directly elected or appointed by an elected leader subject to confirmation by the legislature. There is nothing independent about it. The American view is that judges should reflect the country they serve. If America has an Israeli style system, all judges would be either conservative Democrats or liberal Republicans and all would still be WASP males (in fact the current US Supreme Court includes zero WASPS includes several members who are fairly radical in their politics, such as Sotomeyer and Scalia). Note that the Israeli system of judges basically choosing their replacements entrenches those who were the elite in the early 1950s, meaning that the Israeli judiciary is overwhelming left-wing, upper crust, Ashkenazi and ultra-secular, with Sefardim having only token representation and Hareidim being systematically excluded. Rather than being the last bastion for protection against tyranny, is the last bastion of the otherwise repudicated highoy bigotted upper class that totally enforces its values on the the rest of society.
Bennet for PM. may he only have success.
Redemption is a process and were well on our way.
For those who think that New York is the new jerusalem, think again. Thats what they said about Brisk and Vilna.
We need you in Eretz Yisrael already