Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman MK Simcha Rothman has scheduled hearings on the dramatic legislation every day from Sunday to Wednesday. If enacted, the law will give the government full control over judicial appointments and ban the High Court of Justice from reviewing Basic Laws, as a central element of the coalition’s wide-ranging move to curb the judiciary and centralize almost all power in the hands of the governing majority.
Votes to approve the legislation in committee could be scheduled whenever Rothman decides. The bills will then move to the Knesset plenum for its final two votes sometime after a 48-hour break.
Rothman announced next week’s committee sessions Tuesday, a day after President Isaac Herzog said he was in the final stages of forming a compromise proposal for judicial reform after consultations with academics and civil society organizations on both sides of the ideological spectrum. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have refused to join the talks, with the opposition demanding the legislation first be frozen and the coalition rejecting any preconditions.
The legislation was approved in its first reading on February 21, generating outrage among the opposition and leading to the intensification of public protests against the far-reaching legal reforms. READ MORE
