AG decries Rothman’s ‘silencing attempts’ as Knesset panel advances legal shakeup

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Sunday responded to allegations by MK Simcha Rothman, chair of the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, accusing him of attempting to “silence” her representatives.

“Legislative advisers are dedicated public servants who do their jobs professionally and faithfully, including at discussions held by the government and the Knesset,” Baharav-Miara’s office said in a statement, after Rothman said the attorney general was sending her deputies to “mislead the public” and “manipulate public opinion.”

“Legal counsel to the government will continue to fulfill its role, despite the silencing attempts and the baseless hurling of accusations, as occurred again this morning in the committee,” the attorney general’s office added.

Earlier Sunday, shouting was heard once again at the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee as it considered the next phase of the government’s radical judicial reform package.

The fracas occurred as Deputy Attorney General Avital Sompolinsky presented a legal opinion objecting to a bill that would all but eliminate the High Court’s ability to strike down laws, requiring a unanimous ruling by all of its 15 justices to do so.

The government’s legal overhaul plans were being blitzed through the committee — with its first phase facing initial Knesset plenum votes on Monday — despite the clear opposition of the attorney general.

Sompolinsky presented a comparison to other countries on the top court’s ability to strike down laws deemed unconstitutional, saying no democracy demands a unanimous decision and even a special majority is not common, “so this is one way that severely restricts the court’s option to intervene in laws that infringe rights anchored in international treaties.”

At one point, Rothman began shouting at her, accusing her of evading his questions and selectively choosing when to compare the situation with other countries, arguing that in New Zealand and several other countries, the top court doesn’t have the power to strike down laws at all and the judges are selected by the governing coalition.

“The fact that I need to say this and not you is a shame,” Rothman said angrily, accusing Baharav-Miara of sending Sompolinsky “to present [the international comparison] in a misleading way to the public. This is a scandal.”

Opposition MKs retorted that Rothman was “humiliating” Sompolinsky and “treating her rudely and violently.”

Organizers of a protest movement against the judicial overhaul have declared Monday a “national day of struggle,” which, for the second week in a row, will include a large rally outside the Knesset, as well as demonstrations in various cities and the shuttering of some businesses.

The demonstrations are meant to coincide with the expected first reading in the Knesset of legislation that would give the coalition control over the selection of judges (as well as of a bill to render Basic Laws immune to judicial oversight; discussion will also be continuing on other parts of the overhaul package in the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee).

The legal overhaul, advanced by Justice Minister Yariv Levin and backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would grant the government total control over the appointment of judges, including to the High Court, severely limit the High Court’s ability to strike down legislation, and enable the Knesset to re-legislate laws the court does manage to annul with a bare majority of just 61 MKs.

Critics say that along with other planned legislation, the sweeping reforms would undermine Israel’s democratic character by upsetting its system of checks and balances, granting almost all power to the executive branch and leaving individual rights unprotected and minorities undefended.

Netanyahu and other coalition members have dismissed the criticism.