Knesset panel convenes on new judicial selection plan; Likud to vote on proposal

The Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee is currently meeting to discuss committee chair Simcha Rothman’s proposal giving the government greater control over the country’s Judicial Selection Committee.

The amended proposal would give a governing coalition full control over the first two appointments to the Supreme Court which open up during its tenure, but require the support of others for further appointments to that court.

Meanwhile, Likud is slated to take a vote on the altered proposal during its faction meeting today.

The coalition is moving to push through its proposal to completely change the way judges are selected over the next two weeks, while delaying a host of other proposed bills to allow for negotiations.

Some right-wing proponents of the judicial overhaul are criticizing the softened bill as a surrender to countrywide protests.

But critics have rejected the move as not a true softening. Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the new proposal “a framework for a hostile political takeover of the judicial system,” suggesting it would allow the government to appoint political associates to the bench — “which is exactly what they’ve been planning from the very first day.”