Jewish Home puts High Court in sights in coalition talks

The Jewish Home party is looking for commitments to push forward a number of controversial measures weakening the High Court as a precondition for entering the governing coalition.

The right-wing nationalist party reconvened coalition negotiations with Likud officials in Jerusalem Monday after a several-day hiatus for the Passover holiday.

Officials from the Jewish Home faction sought commitments from Likud to support legislation that would allow the Knesset to override the High Court or Supreme Court when laws are found to be unconstitutional, according to Hebrew-language reports late Monday.

Jewish Home is also looking for backing for a measure that would change the way new justices are chosen for the body, giving greater weight on the nominations panel to lawmakers than existing judges.

With eight seats, the Jewish Home party has found itself weaker than in the last government, but is still seen as a natural partner for Likud, which is expected to cobble together a coalition of right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties over the coming weeks.

Writing on Facebook, Jewish Home MK Ayelet Shaked said officials from the two parties had discussed “subjects connected to the judicial system, settlement in Judea and Samaria, the cost-of-living committee and raising wages for soldiers in the third year of their service.”

Judea and Samaria is a biblical term for the West Bank used by some Israelis.

The measure to allow the Knesset to overrule the Supreme Court in certain cases was brought forward by Shaked during the last government but failed to gain the necessary support.

The legislation would amend the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom to include an override clause.

While Israel does not have a constitution, its set of basic laws is treated as one by the High Court as well as the Supreme Court, which is the highest appellate bench in the country.

The two courts, which have the same makeup, are considered to be more liberal than the Knesset and lawmakers from the right wing of the political spectrum have long sought to wield more control over its makeup and ability to make decisions.

Last year the court struck down a measure allowing asylum-seekers to be detained indefinitely. Had Shaked’s measure passed, it would have been used to overturn the court’s decision.

Shaked and Likud MK Yariv Levin are also looking to push ahead with a measure that would reduce the number of existing justices on the nine-member panel that chooses new judges from three members to one. The two other judges would be replaced with a law expert and a former judge.

The two factions also discussed pushing forward the so-called nation-state bill, which would enshrine Israel’s Jewish character over its democratic one, news site Walla reported.

The parties have already agreed to advance legislation clamping down on NGOs that receive funding from left-wing parties, another controversial measure that right-wing parties have failed to enshrine in recent years, according to the Haaretz daily.

The talks saw no breakthroughs, but were held in a serious atmosphere, Haaretz reported.

The pace of coalition talks have slowed with the onset of the week-long Passover holiday.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties have declined to discuss coalition negotiations during the holidays, but sources have indicated they have few objections to joining the Likud-led coalition.