Netanyahu confidant discussed overhaul with former Supreme Court chief Barak
Retired justice confirms recent meeting with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who is representing the PM in negotiations aimed at building broad consensus for judicial reform
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer recently met with former Supreme Court chief justice Aharon Barak to discuss the government’s judicial overhaul plans.
Dermer, a longtime confidant of Netanyahu, is representing him at talks with the opposition aimed at finding a compromise amid widespread opposition to the government’s plans, which critics say will undermine democracy.
Barak led Israel’s judicial revolution after becoming Supreme Court president in 1995, ushering in many of the principles the current government is seeking to unwind.
He is a liberal icon against which many right-wing, pro-reform activists rally, despite no longer holding an official position. Supporters of the judicial shakeup protested outside the home of the 86-year-old retired judge in Tel Aviv last month.
Hebrew media reports Wednesday did not provide specific details of Dermer’s meeting with Barak, which Channel 13 news said had been held in the past month. Barak confirmed the meeting to the Ynet news site, saying that he occasionally meets with Dermer in a friendly capacity, but did not further elaborate.
There was no comment from Dermer, who has known Barak for years.
Barak has been a vocal opponent of the far-reaching proposals to remake the judicial system and backed the mass demonstrations against them, declaring in January that he was willing to go before a firing squad to stop the measures. Last month, Barak said he believes the government and opposition must come to some sort of broad agreement on the judicial overhaul.
The negotiations, which are being mediated by President Isaac Herzog, are due to resume later Thursday. A statement from the President’s Residence said the talks will address the judicial doctrine of “reasonableness,” which justices have used to gauge government moves and which Justice Minister Yariv Levin and leading overhaul proponents have called to abolish, “and other issues.”
No further sessions are currently scheduled. Herzog’s office said that after Thursday’s meeting, “the mode for continuing the talks to the next stage will be determined.”
The negotiations were last held Tuesday, when representatives deliberated the authority of ministries’ legal counsels, which the government is seeking to greatly weaken as part of the judicial shakeup.
Meanwhile, a group led by rabbis and other public figures urged the government to reach agreements on reforming the judiciary, warning of potential significant fallout if it does not.
“The members of ‘Common Story’ and I feel real anxiety and fear from the destructive developments that Israeli society is passing through at this time,” said Rabbi Rafi Feurstein, one of the heads of group. “We call on Knesset members and the government: No to destruction and yes to broad agreement on fateful questions.”
“Stop the destruction, it’s in your hands and your duty,” he added.
Feurstein is part of Tzohar, an organization of rabbis in the more liberal wing of the religious Zionist community.
His entreaty came as senior opposition lawmakers have in recent weeks called into question the coalition’s commitment to reaching a consensus on judicial reform during the ongoing negotiations.
Coalition figures in turn have accused the opposition of taking an uncompromising stance in the talks, with Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid trading barbs over the matter as the Knesset reopened for its summer session on Monday.
The end of the parliament’s Passover recess has raised the possibility of a renewed push to pass the far-reaching bills.
A key overhaul bill that would put judicial appointments under political control has passed nearly all legislative stages and is ready to be enacted into law within days, if the coalition so desires.
However, analysts and commentators believe the coalition will not advance any of the legislation before passing the state budget, which the ruling bloc must do by May 29 or face automatic elections.
Critics say the overhaul, which will shift much of the judiciary’s power into the government’s hands, will make Israel a democracy in name only, shielding leaders from accountability while leaving minority rights largely unprotected and subject to the whims of Netanyahu’s hard-right government. Proponents say the changes are needed to rein in what they see as an overly activist court.
Polls have consistently shown that the legislation is broadly unpopular in its current form, and that support for the government has significantly dropped since the election.
The Times of Israel Community.