Behind the curtain, Knesset members will choose two of four candidates: Osnat Mark, Ayelet Shaked, Zvi Hauser and Karin Elharar • In blue and white they made it clear that they will support Mark •
MK Osnat Mark (right) and MK Ayelet Shaked
Photo:
Gideon Markovich, Eric Sultan
The Knesset plenum is voting at this time (Wednesday) on the identity of its representatives in the Judicial Appointments Committee. The composition chosen will affect the nature of the Supreme Court for years to come, as three Supreme Court justices are expected to retire in the coming years.
Photo: Knesset Channel
Under the Gideon Saar Law, three committee members can veto the appointment of a Supreme Court nominee. One place on behalf of the Likud has already been awarded to Sarah Miri Regev. In order to reach a blocking block of 3 MKs, the right must attach two right-wing MKs to Regev.
The two seats the Knesset has in the Judicial Appointments Committee will be run by four MKs. The first is Zvika Hauser, who is accepted by both the Likud and Blue and White and his election is considered safe. Likud) and Ayelet Shaked (right), who is a member of the opposition but enjoys the support of members of the coalition.
In the joint list, Likud sources close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked them to support Mark, among other things in exchange for allocating designated budgets for the Arab sector.
Voting will take place behind the curtain, meaning no one has control over the names that Knesset members will actually cast at the polls. A simple calculation shows that Karin Elharar, who holds leftist positions, has a chance to beat Osnat Mark.
MK Osnat Mark, the Likud candidate, is due on paper to receive the 71 votes of the coalition. However, in the morning a fear arose in the Likud that Blue and White would not support her candidacy. Blue and White were quick to clarify that they would support her in accordance with coalition agreements.
Even within the Likud, Mark, a new and inexperienced MK, is not considered a strong candidate. According to estimates by elements in the political system, even 10 MKs from the coalition may refrain from supporting Mark. So on a particularly bad day for the coalition - and there is no shortage of them - 25 MKs may abstain from supporting their official candidate, so that she will receive less than 48 of Elharar's votes.
In the Shaked neighborhood, the scenarios are outright rejected for fear of Elharar winning. "If the Likud fears a loss, they will remove Osnat Mark's candidacy. In any case, the practice in the Knesset is to grant one seat on the opposition committee," Shaked's associates said.
The prime minister, for his part, is personally handling the deal and is using all his weight on Likud MKs to support Mark.
MK Dr. Shlomo Qarai (Likud) told Israel Today that he would vote in accordance with the coalition's position. However, he criticized his party, saying that "in exchange for the coalition's support for the appointment of Shaked to the Judiciary Appointments Committee, it should have been required to give up running for the Judicial Appointments Committee."
Bottom line, there is a good chance that the split of votes between Shaked and Mark will play into the hands of Elharar, who will become the Knesset's second representative on the Judicial Appointments Committee tomorrow.
In such a case, the way will be paved for Justice Minister Nissenkorn (blue-and-white) to appoint the judges in one piece of advice with Supreme Court President Esther Hayut.
Sources in the political system told Israel Today that "a drastic step is needed to prevent historical damage to the right - wing positions in the justice system."