government

Reform in the Israeli Judicial System

January 28, 2023 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Should Supreme Court Judges be elected instead of appointed?

Should Judicial Pronouncements be subject to Knesset approval?

The Supreme Court’s main purpose is to interpret the law and defend the Constitution. It must assure that laws follow the Constitution.

The Supreme Court in the U.S.

In the most democratic republic, the US, the court’s main purpose is to interpret laws passed by the legislature, to defend them, and adhere to the Constitution which is the foundational governing document of the country, adopted and amended by “We the People.” Supreme Court Justices may hold their position as long as they choose unless the Senate impeaches them. Anything else is a usurpation (the act of taking control of something without having the right to do so, especially of a position of power.)

The US Supreme Court functioned as an antidemocratic institution when it declined to enforce federal laws because the unelected judges disagreed with Congress about whether they are constitutionally appropriate.

While President Lincoln was in office, the court decided that Congress had no power to restrict the spread of slavery. President Lincoln gave reasons why Congress, and not the Supreme Court, should have the final word on what the Constitution requires. He stated:

“The candid citizen must confess that if government policy upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by the Supreme Court,” the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically resigned their government into the hands of that eminent tribunal.”

Lincoln was in essence saying that a self-governing people (elected by the majority of the citizens) should have the power to determine what their fundamental law meant.

Lincoln’s argument wasn’t that the Constitution shouldn’t be enforced, but that democratically, Congress was the best institution to enforce it. If people or state governments disagree about a law’s constitutionality, they can campaign to repeal that law. Even the number of Supreme Court Justices is left to Congress. Currently, there are nine justices in the US Supreme Court.

However, if the Supreme Court decides not to enforce a federal law, the majority of justices actually declare that their view is superior to everyone else’s. Even if the president, more than 500 members of Congress, and the four other justices interpret the Constitution as permitting a law, if five justices disagree, then the law is not enforced.

The Supreme Court In Israel

In Israel in the last three decades, the left lost the elections except for the last government that was formed with a minority of voters since the right-wing parties, headed by the largest party, Likud, was shy of one Knesset Member in order to form a coalition.

About 25 years ago, the Supreme Court headed by leftist judge Aaron Barak gradually took control over government policies and Knesset legislation by doing exactly what President Lincoln was against. Israel is the only country in the world where the Supreme Court makes laws without a conscious decision by the government legislative authority.

There is now an absurd situation where the government is restricted from expressing its position, which represents the majority of its citizens since it is bound by the non-elected few legal advisers. The notion that a group of judges protects democracy better than legislators has no basis, nor should there be a difference between the rule of law and the rule of judges, which is now the case in Israel.

Through the years, the attorney general, government legal advisors, and the Supreme Court have managed to block successive Likud governments from advancing their policies across a great number of issues. They gave themselves the authority, binding decisions to overturn any government decision and law, which is unreasonable in their opinion.

The new Justice Minister Yariv Levin has proposed a series of changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, including allowing lawmakers to pass laws that the High Court of Justice has struck down.

The suggested reforms in the judicial system will first of all further politicize the process for electing judges, giving the government control of appointments, the government’s involvement in the election of the High Court’s Chief Justice; thus allowing the government to create a new position of State Prosecutor.

Now, with Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s judicial and legal reform plan representing the first real threat to their grip on power, the judicial system and its supporters in the media and the far left are threatening to overthrow the government.

Levin has proposed a law that would empower the country’s 120-seat Knesset to override Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority of 61 votes. Levin also proposes giving the government control of appointments, and the government’s involvement in the election of the High Court’s Chief Justice, making it more difficult for the Supreme Court to abolish bills and allowing the Knesset to overturn such rulings; bar the Supreme Court from intervening on Basic Laws and with a majority of 61 Knesset members, allow the Knesset to re-legislate laws the court does manage to annul. Legal advisors to public ministries will be appointed by the ministers, and absolve ministers of the requirement to abide by their legal advisors’ guidance, weakening the position of the legal advisor to the government.

Levin plans to restore power that was grabbed by overly intervening judges back to elected officials.

Another critical limitation on the court that is necessary by the reformation is removing the court’s ability to use the clause of “reasonableness” which is not actually a law but decisions that are “reasonable” in the judge’s opinion, which they have used for years to abolish important government and local authorities decisions. Because “reasonableness” is based on opinions and not actual laws, the new government opposes it and proposes to change it.

“We go to the polls, vote, elect, and time after time, people we didn’t elect choose for us… that is not democracy,” Levin said last week when outlining the major components of his reforms during a press conference in the Knesset. These reforms will strengthen the legal system, and restore the public’s trust in it. They will restore order: It will allow the legislatures to legislate, the government to govern, legal advisers to advise, and judges to judge.”

The leftists fear that the government will have ultimate power that it will use not only against LGBTQ rights and illegal immigrants but also in elections and free speech and anything it wants. These fears are unfounded since the government is bound by the existing Basic Laws.

Democracies

December 7, 2022 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

US Democracy/Republic

Unlike the ancient Greek democracy, the US system is at its core, not a pure democracy, but a constitutional republic with democratic elections, as clearly stated in the U.S. Constitution: “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government.” This differs from the original ancient Greek democracy, which the American founders believed to be a corrupt form of government. There are fundamental differences between pure democracy and constitutional republic forms of government.

The Difference between a Democracy and a Republic

The key difference between a democracy and a republic lies in the limits placed on government by the law, which has implications for minority rights. Both forms of government use a representational system, where citizens vote to elect politicians to represent their interests and form the government.

In a republic, a constitution, or charter of rights, protects certain inalienable rights that cannot be taken away by the government, even if it has been elected by a majority of voters.

In a so-called pure democracy, the majority is not restrained in this way. It can impose its will on the minority. It also differs from a representative democracy in which constituents choose leaders to govern according to their interests.

The US is a democratic republic that guarantees fundamental rights and liberties and features an electoral system combining direct elections for legislators and indirect voting (through an electoral college) for the President.

Other Nations

Given that the US is a republic with democratic elections, Americans may not understand how it compares with other forms of government.

For example, unlike the United States, the United Kingdom has a constitutional monarchy that has democratic elections. Although the UK has a legislative system, its Parliament’s historical foundations are not entirely democratic. Whereas the House of Commons is an elected body, the House of Lords is hereditary, though its authority to originate legislation has been curtailed over the years. Yet, unlike Israel, its government is rarely delegitimized.

Some Muslim countries, like Malaysia, enshrine Islam as the national faith; citizens must be Muslim to be considered ethnic Malaysians. Even though they have constitutions and legislative bodies, certain rights and freedoms are subservient to Islamic law as applied by Sharia courts, and there is no separation between religion and state (which is seen as a purely western invention).

Israel

Israel is a parliamentary democracy, consisting of legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Its institutions are the Presidency, the Knesset (parliament), the Government (cabinet), and the Judiciary.

The system is based on the principle of separation of powers, with checks and balances, in which the executive branch (the government) is subject to the confidence of the legislative branch (the Knesset) and the law guarantees the independence of the judiciary.

The President in this system has just a few symbolic duties, with no political power. Defined by law, his duties are mostly ceremonial and formal, such as ceremonially opening the first session of a new Knesset; accepting the credentials of foreign envoys; signing treaties and laws adopted by the Knesset; appointing judges, the governor of the Bank of Israel and heads of Israel’s diplomatic missions abroad. He can pardon prisoners and commute sentences, on the advice of the minister of justice.

The President is elected once in seven years by a simple majority of the Knesset from among candidates, nominated based on their personal stature and contribution to the state.

The Israeli parliament, The Knesset is the legislative authority elected in a general election.

The Knesset, through its committees, conducts general debates on government policy and activity, as well as on legislation. Debates are conducted in Hebrew, but members may speak Arabic, as both are official languages; simultaneous translation is available.

Every citizen is eligible to vote for the Knesset from age 18 and to be elected to the Knesset from age 21. Knesset elections, for a tenure of four years, are general, national, direct, equal, secret, and proportional, with the entire country constituting a single electoral constituency. The Knesset may dissolve itself or be dissolved by the Prime Minister before the end of its term. Until a new Knesset is formally constituted following elections, full authority remains with the outgoing one.

Knesset elections are based on a vote for a party rather than for individuals, and the many political parties, which compete for election to the Knesset, reflect a wide range of outlooks and beliefs. Knesset seats are assigned in proportion to each party’s percentage of the total national vote.

The Government (cabinet of ministers) is the executive authority of the state, charged with administering internal and foreign affairs, including security matters. Its policy-making powers are very wide and it is authorized to take action on any issue, which is not delegated by law to another authority. Like the Knesset, the government usually serves for four years, but its tenure may be shortened if the Prime Minister is unable to continue in office due to death, resignation, or impeachment when the government appoints one of its members (who is a Knesset member) as acting Prime Minister.

In the case of a vote of no confidence, the government and the Prime Minister remain in their positions until a new government is formed. All the ministers must be Israeli citizens and residents of Israel; they need not be Knesset members, but a majority usually are. Ministers, with the approval of the Prime Minister and the government, may appoint a deputy minister in their ministry; all deputy ministers must be Knesset members.

To date, all governments have been based on coalitions of several parties, since no party has received enough Knesset seats to be able to form a government by itself.

The Judiciary – Israeli law guarantees the absolute independence of the judiciary. Judges are appointed by the President, upon recommendation of a special nominations committee, comprised of Supreme Court judges, members of the bar, and public figures. Judges’ appointments are for life, with a mandatory retirement age of 70.

Who is the Ra’am Party – and How Did They Join The New Government?

June 4, 2021 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Ra’am is the Islamist party in Israel. The charter that guides Ra’am, the Islamist party representing the Arab citizens of Israel, demands the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees, saying “there can be no allegiance” to Israel, and deems Zionism a “racist, occupying project.”

Ra’am is the political wing of the Southern Islamic Movement, an organization inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It was updated in 2018 and reviewed at a 2019 conference in Nazareth, which was reportedly chaired by Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas. The Southern Islamic Movement’s charter takes positions considered offensive to most Jewish Israelis.

The Charter states furthermore:
“The State of Israel was born of the racist, occupying Zionist project; iniquitous Western and British imperialism; and the debasement and feebleness of the Arab and Islamic [nations].”

It calls for the so-called right of return for Palestinian refugees who left or were expelled in 1948 (in very small numbers.)

Such a move is widely seen as a red line by most Zionist Israelis, who view an influx of potentially millions of Palestinians to Israel as spelling the demographic end of the Jewish state. (Palestinian refugees are the only refugees in the world, who were not absorbed by the other countries through the years, and who consider their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren also refugees.)

Ra’am embraces a two-state solution as a possible framework, declaring that a Palestinian state ought to be established “alongside Israel” in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem. But it notes that a right of return for Palestinians must be included in that agreement.

The charter also states: “We all (Arabs) are [united as] one hand until the occupation ends and a Palestinian state is established in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and in noble Jerusalem; when the expelled and displaced return to their homes and their homeland.”

As Kingmaker in forming the new coalition, the Arabs used the principle in Islam called “Tkiya” that allows the minority to outwardly pretend to be part of the majority when in a hostile environment but inwardly remain in opposition all the while awaiting the opportunity time to take advantage of the majority for their purpose.

Hence, Mansour Abbas has used this “Tkiya” principle to join the Israeli Jewish coalition Government by taking advantage of Lapid and Bennett’s great desire to replace Netanyahu as Prime Minister at any price. The New would-be Israeli “government-of- change” government’s commitment to this Islamist party could be Zionist’s bankruptcy:

Ra’am has unveiled its coalition agreement with Yesh Atid, making it the first time in decades that an Arab party has joined the Israeli government coalition.

Show Me The Money

As part of the agreement, this Muslim Arab party in Israel demanded and received 30 billion shekels (about 9.25 billion dollars,) for a plan aiming to integrate the Arab sector and another 2.5 billion shekels (about 770 million dollars) for a plan to reduce crime in the Arab sector. In addition, 20 billion shekels (about 6 billion dollars) for a ten-year plan to improve infrastructure in the Arab sector, and 500 million shekels (about 150 million dollars) spending money for “supporting the local authorities.” The total amount is a little over 16 billion dollars. These are staggering amounts to grant a small party of 4 seats. Also, within a month and a half, three unrecognized (illegal) Bedouin “villages” will be recognized and become legal, and the rest (unknown number) within the next 9 months.