'The authority of the High Court to invalidate laws must be revoked'

In her inaugural speech as Speaker of the Knesset, Dalia Itzik stated: "The 17th Knesset's main objective is to gradually, but with determination, bring back trust and to regain the respect the Knesset had at its inception." In the eight months that have since passed, Itzik, the first woman to hold the position, has succeeded in changing the face of the Knesset. After many years in which no one paid attention to the neglected appearance of the building, new carpets have been laid down, the walls have been whitewashed, pictures and curtains have been hung, the floors have been polished and potted plants have been placed in many corners. The Knesset now looks the way a parliament ought to.

But 54-year-old Itzik is not satisfied merely with improving the building's outer appearance. She is initiating some important moves of which the most important (disclosed here for the first time) is the parliament's struggle with the authority of the High Court to invalidate laws the Knesset has passed, on the grounds that they contradict the Basic Laws.

Itzik is also working toward improving the Knesset's bad image, its work methods and the extent to which the public deems it relevant. She has cut the Knesset's budget by NIS 3.9 million and cancelled the institution of a "commissioner for future generations." She is planning to open a school for governance and parliamentarianism in the Knesset and to involve the public more in committee meetings via the Internet.

Itzik has been in the Knesset for 14 years and has served in three governments as a cabinet minister (Environment, Trade and Commerce, and Telecommunications). She grew up in a family of little means and managed to work her way up to the top of the Labor Party until leaving it last year to join Kadima. In an interview with Haaretz in January, Itzik announced her intention of running for the position of speaker. "It is a wonderful job in which one can make a difference," she said then. Since her election, she has been enjoying every minute.

Why does the Knesset have such a bad image?

"This Knesset is much more successful than its predecessor. Its members are of higher caliber and better educated. We are trying to create a more serious atmosphere in the debates. A few months ago, there was a war here that was accompanied by a great deal of hard feelings and stormy emotions, which are responsible for bringing a harsher style into the Knesset. On the whole, the Knesset conducted itself responsibly during the war. We have nothing to be ashamed of. I am sure the Knesset is better than it appears to be in the media."

Are the media responsible for the Knesset's poor image?

"There is a problem with the way in which the media cover the Knesset. Why doesn't the Knesset's important and serious work find expression in the media? They say this is not merely an Israeli problem and that the media prefer the sensational and the dramatic. But that is very frustrating. I see excellent MKs who do exceptional work but get no media coverage."

Does this poor image not spring from the inappropriate behavior of some of the MKs?

"The MKs also contribute to the Knesset's negative image, but only a minority of them behave like that. Most of them behave in a restrained and responsible fashion. Those five or six MKs whose style is not cultured are the ones who give the Knesset a bad name. I am doing my utmost to bring a different kind of atmosphere into the Knesset. This finds expression in the way in which the sessions are conducted. But when children are killed in Beit Hanun by an errant shell of the Israel Defense Forces, it is clear that emotions will come to the fore and the debates become stormier."

Why doesn't the prime minister appear before the plenum more often?

"I spoke to him before the [second Lebanon] war about appearing in the plenum once a month, as the prime minister does in Britain, and replying to questions that bother the MKs. I am convinced that Olmert can do that very well because he knows how to express himself."

'The branches should be separate'

What is your opinion of the tension that exists between the judiciary branch and the Knesset?

"I expect the judicial branch to show greater respect for the legislative branch of government, and for the Knesset to show more respect for the judges. I am of the opinion that the court should not have the authority to invalidate laws of the Knesset. True, the judicial arm uses this right extremely moderately but it should not use it at all. If, in its opinion, the Knesset has passed legislation that is unconstitutional, it should call on the Knesset to reexamine and reconsider the matter."

Former president of the Supreme Court, Prof. Aharon Barak, determined it was the Knesset that gave the court the authority to invalidate laws that contradict the constitution.

"The court should return the matter to the Knesset for reexamination. Legislation that is unconstitutional must be dealt with by the Knesset, because it is the legislative branch of government. The Knesset is sufficiently responsible for the way it passes legislation. It is a fact that, until now, there have been very few laws that were in contradiction to the Basic Laws. One way to strengthen the rule of law in Israel is to ensure that the various branches of government do not become involved with another."

Why did Olmert reject your call to establish a national emergency government?

"The document in which I called for the establishment of a national emergency government was formulated with the agreement of the heads of all the factions in the Knesset. Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu told me very serious things about the Iranian threat. Other former prime ministers and heads of factions told me very upsetting things about the Syrian-Iranian axis. The question I asked myself was whether the prime minister was capable of dealing with the Iranian crisis at a time when he did not have stability in the government.

"This war shook me up, like it shook up many citizens. I believe we now have opportunities for new alliances. I do not believe that Israel can allow itself to waste time and not respond every time the head of an Arab state hints at something." Did Olmert make a mistake by not responding to Bashar Assad?

"Olmert should have met the challenge. He should have invited Assad and met with him. If during a meeting of this kind it turned out that Assad was there for the [media] spin, we would have revealed the spin.

"I will take this opportunity, via Haaretz, and call on the speaker of the Syrian parliament and the speaker of the Lebanese parliament: Come to Israel. You will be received with all appropriate respect. Let us stop this bloodshed."

Should the negotiations with the Palestinians be renewed as well?

"I speak with Abu Mazen very often. I am convinced that he means well. I am convinced he will set up an emergency government. If Abu Mazen establishes a national emergency government with representatives of Hamas, with the understanding they will renounce terror, uphold agreements with Israel and be prepared to free the abducted soldier, Gilad Shalit, in return for the release of security-related prisoners, there will be no reason not to conduct negotiations with them. Israel should come to Abu Mazen with incentives to show the Palestinian people how generous we are when they speak with us. We cannot allow ourselves to turn a blind eye and to say that we will wait until the day they become Zionists. They will not be Zionists."

'Not everything is corrupt'

Do you support the proposal by Olmert, Lieberman and the Pensioners' Party to change the system of government?

"There are things that must be thought through 20 times and then be put together only once. No one should act hastily on this subject. I would not like to think the system of government was changed because it was fashionable. Not all the ills of Israeli society can be attributed to the system of government. Thought must be given to whether the initiative is serious or if it is a matter of whims. I do not plan to allow these draft laws to be pushed through quickly, without the necessary legislative process."

As someone who has been described as an honest politician, how do you react to the findings that many senior public figures, including Olmert, top the corruption list?

"There is no doubt that there is corruption in the country. We have to rid ourselves of it with all our might. But this is not a corrupt country. It is not correct to assess that everything here is corrupt. The term corruption must not become cheap. We must not forget that most of the public figures that were indicted ended up being acquitted."

Should President Moshe Katsav resign or suspend himself?

"I would like to place certain restrictions on myself in this respect, because I, as Knesset speaker, am the person who replaces the president. The president must be allowed to clear his name in a fair way. Who has appointed me to decide whether or not he must resign?"

There may be a situation in which you have to be acting president for a number of months, if he goes on vacation.

"I hope, for the president, that the judicial system will find him not guilty, but if not, we will discuss how to deal with the new situation when it arises. In the meantime, I haven't even read what the law states for such a circumstance."