Well, friends, we have reached the moment of truth: today the amendments to the Basic Law: the Judiciary will reach the legislature for the first reading.
The members of the Knesset will vote for or against, and the law will pass with one or the other majority, in what seems like the most traditional and appropriate way to carry out such actions.
Of course, if you are among the members of the civilized society, you might prefer to call the process "the end of democracy".
It is possible that despite the demonstrations all over the country, despite the calls for a civil uprising, despite the petitions, despite the marches and demonstrations and the cries of rupture - some of the amendments, perhaps all, will also pass in the third reading.
Some of the amendments, and perhaps all, were supported by civilized society in earlier periods of its life.
But why dwell on trifles.
Demonstration in Tel Aviv, archive, photo: Reuters
Yair Lapid, Gideon Sa'ar, Matan Kahane, Robbie Rivlin, Bogi Ya'alon - all of them in the past harshly criticized judicial activism and the court's invasion of the Knesset's domain.
But they may have sobered up since then.
But I have not come to preach morals, but to encourage: freedom fighters - return to your bases in the upper deciles.
We reset the flags of Israel, fold the huge declaration of independence that you wave with you from demonstration to demonstration, and don't steal any more tanks from memorial sites.
There is no danger to the essential democracy that you are fighting for now.
And to the members of the coalition I will say: shame on the trouble of amending the fundamental law: the judiciary.
There is no need to amend the Basic Law: The Government to make it clear that a suspended prison sentence is different from an actual prison term for the purpose of determining disgrace.
Put down the pens that update the defense clause, which you are working on to prevent the ombudsman from demanding that the prime minister resign due to a conflict of interest. It is a shame for their concern and their efforts.
Netanyahu at the cabinet meeting, photo: Kobi Gideon/Leam
After all, for years the judges of the Supreme Court have not accepted the boundaries of the law.
What is the fundamental law: the government versus the "Deri-Pinchasi rule", according to which the court may command a prime minister to fire a minister, even if he is not legally obligated to do so?
The court forced the ministers of education to give the Israel Prize, and the minister of science to appoint a member of an international committee, and even prevented him from legal representation after the ombudsman refused to do so.
For the Supreme Court, the law is a blank canvas on which they can paint the Mona Lisa or Mickey Mouse.
Depends on the desire and the degree of reasonableness.
A matter of goodwill
Can God create a stone that he cannot lift?
There is no telling.
But the law that the High Court does not consider itself entitled to amend, invalidate or ignore has not yet been born. Including fundamental laws.
In the Deri ruling, President Hayut wrote: "In the ruling given today, the judges of the panel refrained from ruling on the claims concerning the amendment of the Basic Law. This, in view of the rule according to which the court will resort to disqualifying a law as a 'last resort', which is light and material in relation to Basic Laws."
And in Hebrew: Although the Supreme Court does not have the authority to invalidate fundamental laws, and even though it does not have the authority to invalidate ordinary laws either, the president announces that it is simply a matter of goodwill on their part.
It is completely simple for them to reject all amendments to the Basic Law: the Judiciary, or to ignore them as needed.
So remove worry from your heart, and hear a joke:
- Where is a gorilla that is two meters tall and weighs half a ton?
- Where she wants
were we wrong
We will fix it!
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