After Netanyahu tells the WSJ, "I Threw Out The Override Clause," Chareidi Parties Rumble

After Prime Minister Netanyahu stated in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that he would not be restoring the Override Clause even while he pursues other judicial changes, the Chareidi parties, which constitute a sizeable portion of Israel’s coalition, are outraged once more.

The Chareidi parties vigorously backed the provision in the hopes that it would help the Knesset override legal challenges to a broad Draft Law that would have exempted everyone who wanted to study Torah.

The legislation now only permits exemptions for individuals over the age of 26, with a stipulation for a minimum number of conscripts from the Chareidi community, and deferments for all other students younger than this age who are also not allowed to work while postponing their studies.

The override provision is no longer in effect, according to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who also stated that he is “attentive to the public pulse and to what I think will pass muster” in the interview with the WSG.

Although the exact format of the new law has not yet been determined, Netanyahu assured the Journal that his administration will still be pushing through with a plan to have considerably greater political influence over the Judicial Selection Committee, which selects judges and Supreme Court justices.

Meir Porush, a minister for United Torah Judaism, retorted that eliminating the override provision would be a breach of his party’s agreement with Netanyahu.

“Two weeks ago, in a meeting with the Prime Minister, I warned against this bad idea and demanded on behalf of United Torah Judaism that the amendment to the Draft Law include the execution of the three signed commitments: Basic Law: Torah Study, the Override Clause, and the amendment to the Service and Security Law, in that order: [Yariv] Levin, [Dudi] Amsalem, and the Cabinet Secretary. We won’t accept any other deal,” Porush stated.

Following Netanyahu’s interview, members of the right-wing coalition also voiced displeasure, claiming that it constituted a success for the reform opponents because “if after all the talks and hopes on the right all we get is a change of the reasonability clause, the reforms have failed.”