Amid the firestorm over several bills intended to alter the composition of Israel's Supreme Court, Israel's Right-leaning governing coalition marked a small victory on Monday. The "Grunis Law," which paves the way for current Supreme Court Justice Asher Grunis to become its next president, was passed in a first reading in the Knesset plenum. Shortly afterward, an amendment to the Israel Bar Association Law, which would benefit Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman, was passed in a preliminary reading. These developments occur as lawmakers continue to spar over changes to the entire judicial confirmation process, in what has become a battle over the identity of the Supreme Court. Following a long and stormy debate, the Knesset passed the Grunis Law by 52-35, with those in favor including coalition members and members of the National Union party. The law will, in effect, remove the barrier preventing the second-most senior member of the Supreme Court, Justice Asher Grunis, from ascending to the presidency when current president Dorit Beinisch retires next year. Current rules stipulate that a president must serve at least three years, and Grunis will be 67, less than three years away from the mandatory retirement age, when Beinisch retires. The Grunis Law rescinds the three-year requirement, thus allowing Grunis to assume the post. A second law, proposed by MK Robert Ilatov (Yisrael Beitenu) would make the president of the Israel Bar Association, attorney Doron Barzilai, serve in one of the Judicial Selection Committee's two slots reserved for lawyers outside the government. This proposed law was passed in a preliminary reading with 50 coalition members voting in favor and 35 opposition members against. Barzilai is considered a close associate of the justice minister and his placement on the committee would bolster Neeman's chances of gaining passage for his preferred Supreme Court nominees. Currently the Judicial Selection Committee is the only body that can approve Supreme Court appointees, but that might change if the Knesset approves a bill to have public Knesset hearings for the nominees. A Supreme Court nominee must win at least seven of the nine committee votes to be appointed to the Supreme Court. The panel is composed of representatives of the state prosecution, the Supreme Court, the Knesset's ruling coalition and the Israel Bar Association. In coming weeks the panel is expected to vote on three Supreme Court vacancies. Now that it has been approved by the Knesset floor, the legislation will be forwarded, perhaps as early as Tuesday, to the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee before it is submitted for a first reading and then for a final passage by the target date of Nov. 22. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not attend the vote on either proposed law. "Netanyahu has been by the side of his wife, who is sitting shiva [the seven days of mourning] for her father," his office said in a statement. In addition, all Independence party MKs were absent from the vote on Monday. This included Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Homefront Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Orit Noked, Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Shalom Simhon and MK Einat Wilf, as well as Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom (Likud), Ministers without portfolio Benny Begin and Yossi Peled, Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat (Likud), Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor (Likud), Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) and Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon (Likud). Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) was at the plenum but did not take part in the vote. Coalition Chairman MK Zeev Elkin (Likud) expressed anger over the Independence party's decision to abstain from the vote, saying it was incumbent on Barak to enforce coalition discipline and support the bill. "He and his friends cannot make their own rules," Elkin said. Most of the speakers at the hearing attacked the government and lashed out against the amendment, whose purpose is to prevent liberal justice Miriam Naor from becoming the next president of the Supreme Court. Unlike Beinisch and her predecessor Aharon Barak, Grunis is said to be opposed to judicial activism and interference in the executive branch's decision-making process. MK Yaakov Katz (National Union), who introduced the Grunis bill, said, "President Beinisch killed the custom of seniority and I am merely confirming the kill." On the other side of the debate, MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) said, "What's at stake here is not just the Grunis Law but an organized attack against every pocket of critical thinking and freedom of conscience in this country. Standing in the face of this tsunami, we say, enough!" "This proposed law is intended to pulverize the Supreme Court and destroy it," MK Zehava Gal-On (Meretz) said. "The Supreme Court delves into areas that are not its province and are in fact the government's responsibility," said Immigrant Absorption Minister Uzi Landau (Yisrael Beitenu), who closed the hearing. "The Supreme Court is monochromatic, political and disconnected." "The Right has started to gain power after 64 years of left-wing hegemony over the Supreme Court," said MK Uri Ariel (National Union). After the vote, several Kadima members began waving black flags, an Israeli symbol that has come to signify that a law or an order from a superior is morally wrong and should not be obeyed. The demonstrating Knesset members were removed from the plenum by ushers at the behest of the Knesset speaker. "A black flag waves over the proposed law passed in the Knesset under the auspices of the absent Netanyahu and the cowardly Independence party," a Kadima spokesperson said later. The Likud welcomed the preliminary passage of the bills. "Once again Kadima has proven itself to be a party of publicity stunts," said a Likud spokeperson. "The black flag is actually waving over Kadima members who change their views based on the day of the week, and are incapable of presenting a unified position on any issue." Meanwhile, four attorneys who are members of the Israel Bar Association's national council petitioned the High Court of Justice on Monday demanding that it annul the decision of the Ministerial Legislation Committee, which passed a bill that would alter the composition of Israeli Bar Association representatives on the Judicial Selection Committee. In their petition they argued that while the High Court of Justice clarifies the issue, the government continues to advance its bills that would alter the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee, "in a fast-track move without any kind of public debate, and contrary to the demands of justice, in an attempt to politicize the committee and achieve a majority through improper legislative tactics," they said. Sources within the Judicial Selection Committee claim that Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch is backing efforts to select a judge of Middle Eastern Jewish descent in the imminent round of new appointments. Since the October retirement of Justice Edmond Levi, there has been no Supreme Court judge of Middle Eastern Jewish extraction, nor is there any such candidate on the current roster of candidates. Because of this, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan has formally asked the Judicial Selection Committee, including President Beinisch and Minister Neeman, to open up the list of candidates to include candidates from Middle Eastern backgrounds. Meanwhile, the two controversial bills concerning the composition of the Supreme Court and the way judges are appointed gave rise to stinging criticism across the political spectrum. "We are witnessing several proposed laws and initiatives intended to undermine the Supreme Court and the supremacy of the judiciary and independence of judges," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday. His Independence party absented itself from the vote despite being part of the coalition. "We in the Independence party believe that in the spirit of the values of our Declaration of Independence, it is important to preserve the independence of the highest court." Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) said that the judicial system should not belong to the Left or the Right. "One of its important roles is to defend citizens' rights against arbitrary actions of the government, any government., he said. At every level, we need to act responsibly and in a statesmanlike way. We must not under any circumstances harm our judicial system." "We have to stop this flood [of legislation] that is trying to destroy Israeli democracy," said Labor party chairwoman MK Shelly Yachimovich, who also did not spare Kadima in her criticism. "In the previous [Kadima] government as well we witnessed a trampling of the rule of law. A man under a criminal cloud shot in every direction. We thought we had put this behind us." Meanwhile, in a related development, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss said on Monday that the creation of a new body that would exert oversight over the state prosecutor was unnecessary. At a hearing on the issue in the Knesset State Control committee, Lindenstrauss called the initiative "unnecessary" because his own office was responsible for overseeing the legality, transparency and proper functioning of the Justice Ministry and state prosecutor. Creating an additional body "would create an opening for separate or additional comptrollers and this would render the state comptroller superfluous," he said. The proposal to create a new body was initiated by right-wing Knesset members who feel that the state prosecutor has acted in a biased way in the past.
Israel's Right gains ground in battle over Supreme Court
The Grunis Law, which would allow conservative Justice Asher Grunis to be appointed president of the Supreme Court, passed a first reading in the Knesset on Monday • MK Uri Ariel (National Union): The Right is finally gaining power.
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