Opposition MK Elharrar says judicial system needs professionals, not politicians
Opposition’s representative on the Judicial Selection Committee accuses Justice Minister Yariv Levin of seeking ‘authority without responsibility’
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Efforts by the governing coalition to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee will only politicize the justice system and erode public trust, the only opposition member of the committee told The Times of Israel.
Pushing back against Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s plan to fundamentally change the composition of the body tasked with choosing judges, Yesh Atid MK Karine Elharrar said that “it seems a little strange to me that we want to go to a process that is much more politicized.”
Such a change would diminish trust in the judicial system, she said. “So I believe in more professionalism. I believe that if there is a need to fix it, we need to bring in more professionals.”
Elharrar did not specify what kind of professionals she had in mind.
Levin recently reached an agreement with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to advance a compromise judicial overhaul — which would increase political power over judicial appointments and curb the High Court’s ability to strike down legislation passed by the Knesset, but would stop short of some measures that sparked massive anti-government protests in 2023.
Unlike the original overhaul, the moves unveiled last month would increase the power of the opposition to block judicial appointments in the critical Judicial Selection Committee. However, the new plan also allows the committee itself to become more politicized by watering down the influence of legal professionals.
The committee is composed of nine members: the Supreme Court president; two other Supreme Court justices selected by the justices of the Supreme Court; the justice minister, who chairs the committee, and another cabinet minister; two members of the Knesset chosen by the Knesset in a secret vote (usually, but not always, one MK from the coalition and one from the opposition); and two members of the Israel Bar Association chosen by the association’s national council.
Elharrar questioned why the pair want to focus on the changing the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee before more basic issues such as dealing with court backlogs and providing speedier trials.
“In my opinion, there’s something a little cynical about a historical agreement between the justice minister and the foreign minister. It’s not an agreement. These are their opinions. They came a little towards each other, but the distance wasn’t great to begin with,” she noted.
Elharrar also slammed Levin for repeatedly pushing off the selection of a new High Court president.
Last Thursday, Isaac Amit was sworn in as Supreme Court president at a ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem following over a year in which Levin refused to convene the committee to vote on Amit’s appointment. Amit had been serving as acting court president since the retirement of his predecessor, Esther Hayut, in October 2023.
One of those present at the court-mandated vote this January in which Amit was finally selected was Elharrar, who represents the opposition on the committee.
“Every time he found a different excuse” to prevent a vote on Amit’s candidacy, she said. “What happens when there’s no agreement? Leaving the court without a president?”
“And we also said more than that: ‘You don’t want him? No problem. We won’t go by seniority. Bring your candidate. Let’s hold a vote.’ He didn’t want that either. So you know, [Levin has] responsibility and authority [but he] only wants authority without responsibility.”
Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.
