MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), who co-authored the judicial selection committee reform, defended the law as "moderate and balanced" in a statement on Sunday, warning that striking it down would be a "power grab" by Supreme Court justices who refuse to agree on a new appointment mechanism. Rothman argued the law grants veto power to both the coalition and opposition, as well as to the Supreme Court justices themselves — except for appointments to their own court.
MK Simcha Rothman, chair of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and co-architect of the judicial selection committee reform, published a detailed defense of the law on Sunday as the High Court of Justice hears petitions against it in an expanded 11-justice panel.
Rothman described the law as "moderate and balanced," noting it was enacted over a year ago with a large majority and delayed implementation until the next Knesset. He rejected comparisons to the original January 2023 proposal by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, which gave the coalition and government an absolute majority on the committee.
The law, Rothman said, is built on compromises: it grants veto power to the coalition and opposition alike within the committee, and also gives Supreme Court justices a veto over appointments to all courts except their own.
Striking down the law, Rothman warned, would be a "power grab" by justices who have refused to agree on a new Supreme Court appointment mechanism this term — leading, he argued, to more radical reforms in the future. His statement follows Chief Justice Yitzhak Amit's opening remarks in the hearing, in which the president asserted the court's authority to review and invalidate Basic Laws.
As The Zioneer reported, the expanded 11-justice panel convened at 09:08 Jerusalem time. A separate earlier report by the Desk noted that MK Rothman had earlier in the day called any judge hearing the petition a "criminal" — a sharp escalation of rhetoric that continues to frame the debate.
2 developments
- DevelopingSaar defends judicial selection reform as 'moderate,' warns radical changes will follow compromise rejection
- DevelopingJustice Stein questioned on political incentives for judges under selection reform
- DevelopingMK Kastel slams High Court direction in judicial selection hearing as 'scandal'
- DevelopingPresident Amit warns of 'regime change' as High Court debates judicial selection reform
Source and signal
- Internal intake