Israel’s Coalition And Opposition Fail To Agree On Key Appointments To Judicial Selection Committee

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Tensions are rising in Israel as the Knesset is slated to vote Wednesday on two key appointments to the Judicial Selection Committee which could affect the judicial reforms being touted by the government and hotly opposed by opposition members. Currently the coalition and opposition are unable to reach agreements on the Knesset’s representatives, who represent two of the nine members on the panel appointing judges in Israel’s courts.

The normal custom is to submit one member of the coalition and one from the opposition, but after the opposition blocked key legislation regarding the judicial committee and no agreements were reached at talks between the two sides at the Presidential residence, the coalition does not feel obligated to appoint an opposition member to the powerful committee.

The committee includes three Supreme Court justices – one of which must be the chief justice – along with two representatives of the Israel Bar Association, two government ministers – including the Justice Minister – and two Knesset Members.

The coalition is expected to tap MK Yitzhak Kroizer (Otzma Yehudit), son of Rabbi Yehuda Kroizer, chief rabbi of the town of Mitzpeh Yericho and dean of the Haraayon Hayehudi Yeshiva, founded by the late Rabbi Meir Kahane.

Yesh Atid is pushing for one of its MKs, Karin Elharrar, to receive the second spot on the committee, though the coalition has refused to back her candidacy, with the National Unity party urging Yesh Atid to compromise and endorse another candidate from the opposition.

The two sides have yet to reach an agreement on the selection of the second Knesset representative, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still undecided whether to push for two coalition representatives, according to a Channel 13 report Tuesday.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who instigated the judicial reforms is insistent on the coalition receiving the two allocated spots for the Knesset, even threatening to resign if the coalition does not receive both places. However Netanyahu realizes that taking both spots effectively ends the negotiations on judicial reform and prefers to cut a deal which will promote some aspects of the reforms while granting the opposition a representative on the committee in return.

Yisrael Beytenu chief MK Avidgor Liberman predicted Tuesday that the two sides would reach a deal on the appointment, and that the agreement would pave the way for a compromise on the judicial reform.

One of the architects of the reform, MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party) slammed the opposition in an interview with Kan news Tuesday morning, accusing National Unity chairman Benny Gantz of a double standard.

Rothman noted that following the 2020 elections, Gantz ensured that the coalition deal included a clause that mandated that both of the Knesset’s representatives to the judicial selection committee would come from the coalition.

“But now that we are the ones in the coalition, this is suddenly a disgrace and could lead to the breakdown of negotiations” on the judicial reforms.

“The current opposition is not willing to cooperate, and I see no reason to include a representative, especially not someone like Lapid, who is inciting attacks on coalition members.”