Netanyahu Says He Still 'Aspires' to Pass anti-Supreme Court Bills

Statement comes in wake of Kahlon’s declared opposition to legislation.

Apr 27, 2015

The Supreme Court. Credit: Amit Shabi

Apr 27, 2015

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he still “aspires” to pass legislation allowing the Knesset to reenact laws declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, despite the declared opposition of an expected key coalition partner, Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu party.

Netanyahu made the statement at a meeting with Meretz chairwoman Zehava Galon.

The bill to allow the Knesset to override Supreme Court rulings is one of two proposals related to the Supreme Court that Netanyahu’s Likud party has said it wants to enact. The other, which would shift the majority on the Judicial Appointments Committee from Supreme Court justices to politicians, didn’t come up in his meeting with Galon. Neither bill has yet been finalized.

Likud wanted a commitment to passing both bills to be included in the coalition agreement, but Kahlon objected to this, as his party opposes both pieces of legislation. Nevertheless, the government could try to enact them even if they aren’t included in the coalition agreement.

After Monday’s meeting, Galon blasted Netanyahu’s stated intention of doing so, accusing him of “reneging on his public commitment in the past not to allow the Supreme Court to be harmed.”

“The cat is out of the bag: The prime minister has become a devotee of the extreme right,” she said. “Netanyahu is willing to crush the Supreme Court and undermine the foundations of democracy because of his political interests. Netanyahu supports giving the Knesset power to advance the override bill, which undermines the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom. The override bill contradicts the fundamental principle of the supremacy of the law and gives a tyrannical parliamentary majority the power to infringe on basic human rights.”