The Chairman of the Constitutional Committee, Simcha Rothman, welcomed the compromise outline initiative presented by President Yitzhak Herzog regarding the judicial reform in his opening remarks on Monday morning but stood by his refusal to freeze the legislative process. Despite Rothman’s willingness to negotiate but not slow down the process or commit to delaying tomorrow's vote, opposition leaders present at the meeting protested by slamming their hands on the table and singing Ein Li Eretz Acheret ('I have no other land') and even climbing over the table to the well of the committee and screaming at the chairman.
Following the commotion, if all goes by smoothly the members of the Knesset will be expected throughout Monday to vote on two of the articles of the judicial reform; those concerning the change in the selection of justices, and the blocking of the Supreme Court's rights to discuss the legality of fundamental laws.
Knesset Law Committee passes first stage of Israeli judicial reform: Ahead of Israeli judicial reform vote, opposition MKs were thrown out by force after chanting 'shame' https://t.co/blXYp0kc3b JPost pic.twitter.com/GNBIdT3UjL
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At the beginning of the discussion in the Constitutional Committee, Rothman laughed and told the opposition representatives that "I understand that you are in a good mood, it's a holiday." Knesset member Gilad Karib from the Labor party responded by saying "it is a day of mourning", and other members of the opposition called Rothman a "disgrace". At one point, Rothman began to remove members of the Knesset from the discussion, and Vladimir Blayak and Yurai Lahav Haretzno climbed on the table. Knesset member Almog Cohen from Otzma Yehudit was heard cursing MK Debby Biton when she was removed.
After the expulsion, MK Lahav Haretzno told Yedioth Ahronoth that "I crossed the boundaries with the table climbing, but they crossed the boundaries of democracy.” A total of 17 members of the Knesset were removed from the debate, and after they were removed dozens more gathered near the committee’s room and shouted at closed doors.
at the start of the judicial reform debate this morning, opposition MKs drowned out the committee, singing “Ain Li Eretz Aheret” (I have no other country) in protest of reforms they see as anti-democratic.
— shira 🏳️🌈 שירה (@shirasilkoff) February 13, 2023
Protests are being held across the country today, as is a general strike. https://t.co/sdIYOgpENj
In his statement before the debate, Chairman Rothman welcomed President Herzog's initiative, saying that in his speech, Herzog emphasized the "importance of unity among the people of Israel, and the vital need to reform the legal system." According to him, the gaps between the President's opening outline and the drafts of the bills he submitted and the outline presented by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, "are not negligible but also not large, and certainly do not justify prophecies of the apocalypse."
The Chairman of the Constitution Committee claimed that "with honest talks between the opposition and the coalition, I believe we can narrow the gaps and strive for a plan that will enjoy a large consensus." Rothman claimed that he has no control over the date of the vote in the plenary, but the vote in the committee will take place Monday as expected.
Singing “I have no other land,” Knesset opposition members were removed at the beginning of the committee meeting for disrupting the proceedings, as the Israeli Parliament is witness to an unusual level of sparring and outbursts pic.twitter.com/lsHHvfpNfg
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He also called for talks without postponement of the legislation, "as early as today and even before the proposal comes up for a vote in the first reading in the plenum", mediated by the president and with any representative of the opposition who wishes to do so. He called on the members of the opposition and the President of the Supreme Court Ester Hayut to come for talks mediated by the president, without preconditions.
