Overnight on Monday, a bill to limit the Supreme Court’s use of the “reasonableness” criteria was passed by the Knesset along partisan lines. By a vote of 64 to 56, the bill was passed.
The bill will be promptly prepared for the two more plenum votes required for it to become law, according to MK Simcha Rothman, the head of the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, who made the announcement on Sunday.
The coalition wants to see the law passed before the summer session ends on July 29.
The rule would forbid judges from using “reasonableness” as a legal foundation for overturning decisions taken by the Cabinet, ministers, and “other elected officials as set by law.
The standard, according to critics, has been utilized by the court to overstep its legal bounds and undermine governmental power.
The bill’s detractors claim that it will weaken Israel’s system of checks and balances and result in the misuse of power.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the measure on Monday, saying it “won’t put an end to democracy but will strengthen democracy.”
The action, according to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, “will enable an elected government to implement its policy in accordance with the law.”
We in the coalition act responsibly, as opposed to the opposition, which acts recklessly and fosters incitement,” he remarked.
“As we promised the public before [last November’s] election and in accordance with the mandate we obtained from the people,” Smotrich said, “we will continue to advance, with determination, necessary improvements to the judicial system.
Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition, blasted the administration for “losing all restraint.”
After the Histadrut labor federation decided to partially shut down the nation on March 27, Lapid urged it to call another countrywide strike on Sunday.
On Tuesday, protest leaders have organized a “day of disruption” that will involve “demonstrations, marches, and convoys.
Additionally, activists plan to hold a protest at Ben-Gurion Airport. When thousands of protesters attempted to clog traffic to the airport on July 3, they were successful in slowing down movement everywhere—including in the arrival halls.
The Police said they would prevent a repeat of that incident.
On Sunday, cabinet members criticized Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara for, in their opinion, allowing demonstrators to run amok in an effort to bring the nation to a standstill.
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