Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar has announced details of a bill he is drafting that will prevent those accused of serious offenses from forming a government.
The bill would block an individual from forming a government if the charges he faces carry a potential prison sentence of more than three years.
That person would also be blocked from participating in a confidence vote on a new government and won’t be able to serve as “alternate prime minister” — a position created for the previous power-sharing government between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz and carried on to the current one between Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.
Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar speaks at a press conference in Jerusalem, on July 6, 2021. (Amit Shabi/Pool)
The draft leaves some leeway — with the head of the Central Elections Committee able to wave it in certain circumstances.
“We must prepare better governance regulations for the future, which fortify Israel’s values,” Sa’ar says in a statement. “We are obligated to prevent a return of the situation Israel experienced recently.”
Likud reacts to the bill with disdain, saying that “Sa’ar, who is scraping the bottom of the electoral threshold in all polls, is proposing an anti-democratic law in the style of Iran, which seeks to rule out the person supported by millions of citizens… embarrassing.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
