The coalition presented its contentious judicial changes for the committee to vote on at a contentious meeting on Monday morning in the Knesset’s law committee.
In addition to singing “We Have No Numerous Country,” opposition MKs tried to disrupt the meeting in other ways, shouting and heckling until they were escorted out of the committee room.
Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), the director of the Law committee, responded to the proposal made by President Herzog on Sunday night in a public statement before the session.
Rothman acknowledged the need for a sincere discussion on strengthening the judiciary and its interactions with other governing bodies, but he refused to postpone passing legislation on the subject.
According to Rothman, the gaps between the president’s framework and the bill proposals that Minister Levin and I submitted “are not minor but also not too great and certainly do not justify the apocalyptic-style prophecies and cries of distress about the end of democracy which we have been hearing.”
Rothman continued, “I believe we can narrow the gaps and reach a plan with a broad agreement, as Minister Levin said at the beginning of this procedure.” He added that “there are parts of the president’s plan which are acceptable and others which need to be reframed to solve the problems we are experiencing and which we have promised our voters to deal with.”
Rothman stated that he was willing to sit down with any opposition member without any restrictions to encourage mutual debate and create a consensus on the reforms at the national level.
He invited Chief Justice Esther Hayut of the Supreme Court to participate in the conversation without restrictions. “We have a historic opportunity to repair injustices, restore faith in the legal system, and be at a place our predecessors dreamed of,” he continued.
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