Isaac Herzog in the US Congress (GPO)
President Isaac Herzog held a round of meetings Sunday evening in an effort to bring about agreement and compromise on the issue of the law to abolish the grounds of reasonableness. Herzog met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opposition leader Yair Lapid and state camp chairman Benny Gantz and presented them with a document of principles relating to reducing the grounds of reasonableness and continuing to promote the laws of the legal revolution. Sources familiar with the talks say there are still gaps between the coalition and the opposition, but efforts continue to reach an agreement before the legislation is passed tomorrow.
Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David, whose proposed outline this morning was rejected by the Likud party, is also expected to meet tomorrow morning with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the president's residence. Lavala! It has become known that in recent hours sincere attempts have been made by all sides to reach an agreed outline for softening the bill. Therefore, for the time being, a general shutdown in the economy, initiated by the Histadrut, is not on the agenda.
According to the sources, during the day the coalition showed willingness to soften the wording of the law to abolish the cause of reasonableness, based on the outline formulated by Prof. Yedidia Stern and former Deputy Attorney General Raz Nizri, according to which the reason for reasonableness will not apply to government decisions on policy matters or to ministerial appointments that require the approval of the Knesset plenum. Government decisions regarding the appointment and dismissal of officers such as chief executives, senior public officials will continue to be subject to judicial review. The president's document of principles also includes protections for gatekeepers and preventing their dismissal.
Final efforts ahead of tomorrow's vote (Photo: Photo processing, Yonatan Zindel, Yossi Aloni, Flash 90)
However, the main point of contention between the sides concerns the duration of the declared freeze on the continued promotion of the laws of the legal revolution. The coalition is willing to commit to only a short-term freeze of only 3-9 months, while the opposition is demanding a much longer and more significant freeze of 15-18 months, if not for the entire term, during which any legal legislation will be advanced only by agreement.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin and supporters of the reform in the coalition refuse a long freeze, mainly because of their desire to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee and Levin's refusal to convene the committee in its current composition. Levin's concern is that with a long freeze, the High Court will require him to convene the committee and appoint judges, while he wants to change the composition of the committee in the future. The opposition, on the other hand, refuses to accept only a brief freeze, a proposal that a senior opposition official said was described as a "joke."
Earlier today, Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David and Business Sector Presidency Chairman Dubi Amitai published a compromise proposal to reduce the grounds of reasonableness. According to the proposal, which they submitted on Thursday to the heads of the coalition and the opposition, the grounds of reasonableness will not apply to government decisions and ministers, if they relate to policy matters, and it will not be possible to invalidate government decisions on the appointment of ministers and deputy ministers by virtue of reasonableness. At the same time, the government will freeze the continuation of the legislation of the legal revolution for a year and a half, during which it will be able to advance legislation only with the consent of 75 Knesset members.
Biden Herzog meets at the White House July 18, 2023 (Photo: Reuters)
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According to the outline, which was drafted on the basis of the proposals of Prof. Yuval Albashan, Prof. Yedidia Stern and Adv. Raz Nizri, former deputy attorney general, the rest of the ministerial decisions, including decisions on appointments that do not require Knesset approval, can still be invalidated on the grounds of reasonableness. These changes will not apply in a transitional government, from the moment elections are declared until a new government is formed. "We call on all sides to stand immediately behind a balanced compromise outline for the future of the state and the salvation of Israeli society," the two said after the outline was published.
However, the Likud party announced that it rejected Bar-David's compromise proposal: "The Histadrut proposal, which is completely identical to Lapid's, is a unilateral acceptance of the opposition's position as it was from the beginning. The proposal completely sterilizes the amendment on reasonableness and requires a complete waiver of all other elements of the reform. We continue to make every effort for a genuine compromise and expect all parties to seriously engage in this effort and not bring us back to square one," they said.
Herzog's office said earlier that the president and his team were working to exhaust the attempts at dialogue in order to reach an agreement between the sides - "This is an emergency, we must reach an agreement," the president said. Therefore, President Herzog traveled immediately after landing to Sheba Hospital - Tel Hashomer, where the Prime Minister has been hospitalized for the past 24 hours, and met with him. Herzog then also met with opposition leader Yair Lapid and state camp chairman Benny Gantz.
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- The Legal Revolution
- Chairman of the Histadrut