"Don't leave the women behind": sharp criticism of the reform of the justice system also in the gender field, as part of the wave of protests that is getting more and more intense against the moves led by Minister Yariv Levin.
The former minister, MK Merav Cohen (Yesh Atid) appealed to the Minister of Justice and the Chairman of the Law, Constitution and Law Committee, MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), claiming that the amendment of the reform law is expected to harm the representation of women in the committee for the selection of judges, which is still anchored in the legislation.
"The legal reform harms gender representation".
MK Merav Cohen in the Knesset, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The expected changes
According to the situation today, the committee has nine members, where out of three judges, two ministers, two representatives of the Bar Association and two members of the Knesset -
there must be female representation from each sector
.
That is: four women out of nine committee members, at least
one
judge ,
a lawyer
,
a Knesset member
and one
minister
on behalf of the government.
In Levin's reform, it is proposed that the committee be increased to 11 members when it will have three ministers, three heads of committees in the Knesset (Chairman of the Knesset Committee, the Constitution Committee and the State Audit Committee), three judges and two public representatives appointed by the Minister of Justice.
In the amendment to the law, Levin seeks to
abolish the obligation of female representation of Knesset members
, since the appointed Knesset representatives are the chairmen of the committees in the Knesset, and to replace the female representation of the Bar Association with a stipulation that at least one of the public representatives on the committee be a woman.
This amendment will harm the female representation in the committee since instead of four women out of nine today, there will be three women out of eleven members - a sharp decrease in the duty of women's representation from 44% to 27%.
Rothman promotes another law
It is not clear if Levin's version will be the final version.
The Constitution Committee promotes Rotman's law which states that the committee will continue to appoint nine members, but also in Rotman's law the representatives of the Bar Association will be abolished and the Knesset members will be the same committee heads.
Rothman did not refer to the female representation in the text of his law, but apparently it will not require female representation among the committee heads in the Knesset, so that only two women out of nine members will be required to be represented, while the current situation requires four women out of nine committee members.
"Don't leave the women behind."
MK Cohen's appeal to the Minister of Justice and the Chairman of the Constitution Committee, photo: none
This morning, the former minister from the opposition addressed Minister Levin and Rothman.
"We must act to ensure the representation of women, also within the framework of the proposed amendment," Cohen wrote.
"The underrepresentation endangers the women's voice in the decision making that will affect every man and woman in Israel."
The Knesset member justified her response to the issue in light of the number of women in the current government.
"The picture that emerges is particularly worrying in view of the minority of women, 5 ministers compared to 25 ministers and the minority of members of the Knesset - only 24 percent."
"These painful data directly affect who will serve on the committee to select judges on behalf of the government and the Knesset," Cohen concluded.
"We must move forward to increase representation, and not go back."
The public protest provoked by the expected changes in the judicial system, drew reactions in Israel and around the world as well as in the business arena.
Following the publications, a number of global companies are withdrawing their operations in Israel.
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