Levin strikes again

For the last 20 years, Israel's legal system has been fending off attempts to undermine it. The rule of law has come under attack in Israel's Supreme Court, by the state prosecutor and in the office of the State Comptroller. During the years in which Meir Shamgar, Aharon Barak and Dorit Beinisch were active in the Supreme Court or when Menachem Mazuz served as attorney-general and Micha Lindenstrauss headed the state comptroller's office, these individuals were able to ward off the sons of darkness. They had allies both in the government and in the media. Honesty and integrity enjoyed a worthy defense, but the sons of light emerged from this battle exhausted.

The public battle has been longer than expected. Former Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann's book "The purse and the sword" proved that the attempts to undermine the rule of law have been around for 40 years. Friedmann even voiced reservations about the bribery investigation against former senior Labor official Asher Yadlin, who was appointed governor of the Bank of Israel by Yitzhak Rabin's first government in 1976. But then-police investigator Binyamin Ziegel, then-Attorney-General Barak and then-Supreme Court Justice Shamgar were wise enough to send Yadlin to prison.

Now, the expectation was that the constant attacks would subside. Most of the sons of light have since retired, to be replaced by individuals whose moral outlook is slightly more relaxed, like Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein and State Comptroller Yosef Shapira. The Supreme Court is currently headed by Chief Justice Asher Grunis, whose approach is extremely formalistic. But the rule of law has no time to rest. Coalition Chairman MK Yariv Levin is striking again. This time, he is proposing to change the composition of the Judicial Nomination Committee -- the body that selects judges.

Levin reassures us that even if his proposal is implemented, politicians will still represent a minority on the selection committee. But the politicians' power in it will grow under his proposal, and they will gain external backing from certain elements in academia as well as from retired Supreme Court justices. Levin's proposal is merely a continuation of his ongoing battle against the High Court of Justice and the rule of law, even though Israel's legal system serves as a beacon of light for Israel's citizens and to foreigners who take an interest in our legal arena.

During Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's last term in power, he had ministers Michael Eitan, Benny Begin, Ehud Barak and Dan Meridor in his cabinet, all of whom worked to protect Beinishch's and Barak's legal legacy, which survived despite Friedmann's constant attacks. But what about the current cabinet? We are still in the dark. Will Yesh Atid join the sons of light? Maybe. There is no guarantee. Will Justice Minister Tzipi Livni continue to combat Levin's proposal to the point of threatening to quit the coalition if the composition of the committee (which has proven itself for the last 65 years) is altered? One should hope so, though we cannot be sure.

This time the flak jacket protecting the rule of law from the government's arrows is very thin. Despite his busy schedule, Netanyahu is invited to step in. Not just in opposition to Levin's proposal -- which will harm Israel's legal system domestically as well as tarnishing Israel's image abroad -- but also in demanding of his friends in the coalition to leave the court system alone. Somebody needs to declare a ceasefire – a two-year hudna; a time out.

Failing that, there will be no choice but to recruit the retired Supreme Court justices, many of whom have fallen into a coma. We will have to draw Mazuz out of the private shell he has nestled in. We will have to call up the veteran fighters in the legions of the sons of light and renew the battle. To alter the composition of the Judicial Nomination Committee is tantamount to an invasion of the inner sanctum of law and justice, which have been conducting themselves in a worthy manner (with the occasional problem) for many years.

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