“Israel needs judicial reform-but how?” was the title of a Wall Street Journal Editorial Board piece which was published Monday morning. The editorial, which is in complete favor of the attempt to reform the Israeli judicial reform, goes as far as claiming that Israel’s democracy could strengthen as a result of reforms if done properly.
The editorial, penned by the editors of the well-regarded financial paper “Israeli democracy isn’t dying. Even if the reforms were to abolish judicial review of legislation, leaving the Knesset supreme, this would drag Israel all the way back to 1995. It was a democracy then, and no aberration. A sovereign parliament is a norm in parliamentary democracies that lack a written constitution for courts to enforce.”
…Israeli democracy isn’t dying. Even if the reforms were to abolish judicial review of legislation, leaving the Knesset supreme, it would drag Israel all the way back to… 1995. [lol] It was a democracy then, and no aberration. A sovereign parliament is the norm in parliamentary
— Noga Tarnopolsky נגה טרנופולסקי نوغا ترنوبولسكي (@NTarnopolsky) March 13, 2023
The article then turns to criticize President Biden’s opinion on the matter, which calls for consensus between both parts of the heated debate. “President Biden says Israel needs consensus, but there was no consensus for the ‘judicial revolution’ in which Israel’s high court, starting in the 1980s, made itself the final arbiter on all things. ‘Everything is justiciable’, declared a former chief justice. The court has reviewed cabinet appointments, budget allocations, combat decisions, and even whether the Prime Minister is unfit for office.”
“Shrewd thinkers on Israel’s right understand that compromise is needed to lower the stakes, regain the public’s confidence and pass something durable. The opposition, however, sees Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing on a ledge and has no desire to let him off lightly. The coalition will have to moderate its own proposal and settle for partial victory, even though the true believers won’t like it.”
"The right may have to compromise. The left may have to calm down."@WSJ Editorial, in one of the more fair and honest assessments on the judicial reform debate gripping #Israel ... and path forward.https://t.co/4xvZkxcW67
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) March 13, 2023
Just a few hours after the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board published its opinion on Israel’s most controversial current topic amongst its citizens, the Knesset gathered to hear a proposal for compromise between the opposition and coalition on the reform.
According to Dr. Geora Yaron, one of the composers of the current compromise being proposed: "The atmosphere on the ground has two heads, the state of Tel Aviv against the state of Judah and the state of Tel Aviv is simply fed up. The other head is orthodox against secularism. I do not represent the high-tech community but simply myself, at best I can represent my comrades who fell in the battle for the Hermon (Mountain atop the Golan Heights. This is a reference to the Yom Kippur War), and if we continue in this direction it will dishonor them. Dozens were killed like flies. If we don't do everything possible to solve these two problems, no one will leave here in an honorable way"
