In times when the voices of those against Judicial Reform are so loud, even those who support the government's efforts believe that the majority is against them, one prominent and large group of academics reframe the narrative. Yesterday, 120 senior academics from leading universities in Israel, some of which are among the best in the world, signed a letter in support of the reforms to the judiciary promoted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin and the chairman of the Constitution & Law Committee, Knesset Member Simcha Rothman. In the letter, the professors expressed their support for the reform, and call for the continuation of its promotion, while continuing to offer the opposition the possibility of negotiations.
The petition states that "comprehensive reform of the judicial system is essential due to the constitutional revolution led by Professor Aaron Barak, which shifted the balance between the authorities in Israel." Professor Barak was the former President of the Supreme Court who was the one in the early 1990s to usher in a 'Judicial Revolution' that gave the courts more power to assess Knesset legislation for legality based on Israeli 'Basic Law.' In the absence of a constitution, Barak turned to documents such as the Declaration of Independence to discern what was 'legal' and what was not based on their interpretations.
Israel : 120 professors in favor of judicial reform: āA comprehensive reform of the judicial system is essential. pic.twitter.com/V3yubwfhXL
ā Franckalbert (@Franckalbert201) March 2, 2023
The letter also noted that "the violation of the balance between the authorities and the strengthening of the power of the court was done through various tools: judicial review of primary legislation and in particular its expansion even to basic laws, expansion of the right to stand, expansion of the judicial doctrine, expansion of the use of the reason of reasonableness, use of purposeful and objective interpretation, and multiple empowerments of powers the ombudsmen. All these added up to an excessive violation of the aforementioned balance."
The professors also point out that "the legislative procedures in Israel give great scope for discussion, precision, and persuasion. The requested place for discussing the details of the reform is the Knesset of Israel and substantive discussions should be held in it between the supporters of the reform and its opponents as is customary."
120 Israeli academics launch petition in support of government's judicial reform#Israel #IsraelProtests #Netanyahu @netanyahu @itamarbengvir @bezalelsm @KnessetIL @LikudParty @SecBlinken @yairlapid @gantzbe #Palestine #WestBank #Jerusalem
ā Agencia AJN (@AgenciaAJN) March 2, 2023
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At the end of the discussion, the professors wrote that the reform should be carried out through negotiations but not harm the process "as much as possible, it is good to hold negotiations and strive for broad agreements, but one must not harm the essential process of correcting the judicial system, which in recent years has greatly overstepped the limits of the other authorities."
Among the signatories are Nobel Prize winner Professor Robert Aumann, Bar Ilan University Rector Professor Amnon Albeck, former University Rector Professor Yossi Yeshurun, along with many physicists, mathematicians, and computer science professors from the Weizmann and Mann Institute, The Technion as well as researchers from various universities.
