It appears that gaps continue to emerge between the positions of Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and Gantz’s National Union Party over the judicial reform negotiations at the president’s residence. Reshet Bet Radio reported Sunday morning that Gantz’s party is refusing to endorse one of Yesh Atid’s key demands, to convene the Committee to Appoint Judges within two weeks of electing MKs to the committee, and to begin appointing new judges.
National Union believes convening the committee should be left to the discretion of Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and they have no intention of forcing him to convene the committee or interfering with his discretion. As far as Gantz’s party is concerned, the demand to establish the committee with one coalition and one opposition member is sufficient.
The Knesset will convene on Wednesday to elect its representatives to the committee. It is believed that the representative of the coalition will be MK Yitzhak Kreuzer of Otzma Yehudit, and the opposition will elect MK Karin Elharar of Yesh Atid.
According to Haaretz, Minister Levin wanted to set the date of the elections to the committee, June 14, as the end of the negotiations, and condition the election of an opposition representative on reaching agreements on his reforms, but Netanyahu refused.
Last week, Likud MK Tali Gottlieb declared she had no intention of withdrawing her candidacy for the committee, tweeting, “By the way, the coalition would do better if it agreed to elect two representatives on its behalf.” But Gottlieb will not win an appointment, since most of the coalition and the opposition are expected to vote for Kreuzer and Elharar.
The former chairman of the Bar Association, Effie Neve, who is running for the same job again, despite criminal convictions, told N12’s Meet the Press Saturday night that the composition of the committee to appoint judges “does not need to change, it is correct and balanced.” If it is not changed, the committee will include two members of the bar, three supreme court judges, two government ministers, and two MKs. The required majority to approve a nomination is seven, which deprives the coalition of the power to force a nomination, but also gives it veto power, with three members out of nine.
Also, Justice Minister Yariv is free to decide not to convene the committee at all.
