Bill enabling Deri’s return as minister slated for initial Knesset vote Wednesday

Amid the fiery discourse over the government’s plans to push forward legislation massively overhauling the judicial system, the coalition still plans to bring to an initial Knesset vote on Wednesday a bill that would prevent the High Court from barring Shas chief Aryeh Deri’s return as a minister.

The bill in question would amend the existing Basic Law: Government to insert a clause placing ministerial appointments outside the purview of the court system. On Sunday, members of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted to give the bill government backing, likely easing its path through the Knesset.

If the bill passes an initial reading on Wednesday, it will move to a Knesset committee to prepare it for three subsequent votes before becoming law. The legislation could still be pulled from the Knesset agenda at the last minute.

President Isaac Herzog has urged members of the coalition to put a pause on the government’s efforts to reshape the judicial system, and called for talks between opposition and coalition lawmakers. On Tuesday evening, Herzog met separately with the coalition’s MK Simcha Rothman, an architect of the plan, as well as opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz.

Deri, who was appointed as health and interior minister in the new government, was barred from holding office in a bombshell High Court ruling last month. Justices ruled that giving the Shas chief a cabinet post was “unreasonable in the extreme,” due to his past criminal convictions — including one last year for tax offenses — and because he had falsely convinced a judge last year that he was permanently leaving political life as part of his plea bargain.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reluctantly fired Deri shortly after the High Court ruling, but he and other members of the government immediately vowed to pass legislation that would allow him to return to office.

Legal experts have speculated that such legislation could end up being struck down by the High Court if challenged. A key element of the government’s efforts to remake the judicial system is allowing the Knesset to override High Court rulings as well as to pass legislation that is immune from judicial review.

On Saturday, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s office came out against the bill, predicting that the legislation would likely be struck down by the High Court of Justice if passed. A letter from two deputies in the Attorney General’s Office said the bill would remove “constitutional safeguards” against appointing corrupt officials to senior posts.

The bill’s language stipulates that no court will be able to exercise judicial review over the appointment of cabinet ministers or be able to remove them from office. The one exception would be if an individual is appointed as a minister despite not having the formal qualifications required by law.

The Attorney General’s Office also suggested that the government is seeking to legislate “personal laws” — legislation aimed at meeting the personal political desires of a single individual, and doing so would “cross a line.”

The bill marks the coalition’s second attempt to bring Deri back to office since the November 1 election. It had previously passed an amendment allowing those given suspended sentences over the past seven years to serve as ministers, as is the case with Deri. Though the law passed and was ultimately upheld by the High Court, it was not enough to prevent the Shas leader from being disqualified as minister.