120 Israeli academics launch petition in support of government's judicial reform

A petition signed by 120 academics in support of the proposed judicial reform was launched on Thursday.

Signatories include professors, researchers and administrators from the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, the University of Haifa, Bar-Ilan University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University and Ben Gurion University.

The initiative was supported by Israel Prize laureate Prof. Yisrael (Robert) Aumann, who spoke Thursday at the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee sessions on the reforms. Aumann had pushed for change in the composition of the judge selection committee but had advised against the override clause over concern of checks and balances and separation of powers between authorities.

Balance of power 

This balance of powers between government branches was damaged by the High Court of Justice's 1990s constitutional revolution, argued the petition. The court had gained too many powers, including judicial review of both regular and Basic Laws and increased scope of the reasonableness clause.

It shouldn’t be allowed to harm the essential corrective process for the legal system, “which in recent years has had the limits of authorities redrawn,” said a statement announcing the petition.

Calling for negotiations 

The petition also called for negotiations to create a broad agreement on the reforms, but not to capitulate on the core elements needed for correcting the system.

The signatories noted that there are many more academics who support the reform, and many more would sign the petition.

The petition was expressly in response to previous open letters by academics in opposition to the reforms. On January 24, 185 legal field academics signed a joint statement, which was preceded by a January 8 letter by eight university law faculty deans.

On Thursday, another 500 academics – deans and school and faculty heads – issued another letter against the judicial reform.

“We do not represent one party or another, but we look on with growing anxiety at the moves that the current government is making, which are clearly not limited to legal reform,” said the academics. “Instead, these moves have the potential to lead to a regime coup, which will change the character of the country and distance it from the vision of its founders and the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.”

In another letter, around 80 IDF Duvdevan special unit veterans warned that the legislation being pushed forward was without broad consensus and was dividing society and would ruin the delicate balance between government branches.

Citing their sacrifice for their country and varying political opinions, the veterans “decided to come out of the shadows, make our voices heard and call on the government and coalition to stop the process of legislation and create a broad negotiated agreement.”

On Wednesday, 740 Israeli opposition activists with six NGOs sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be sanctioned for human rights offenses.

The activists asserted that through the judicial reform, Netanyahu was attacking Israel’s democratic institutions and seizing control of all branches of government, which was in part motivated by his ongoing corruption trials.

“The bills that Prime Minister Netanyahu is promoting will turn the State of Israel into a full-fledged dictatorship and will abolish all legal protections in Israel for human and civil rights,” argued the activists. “We ask you to act without delay to implement the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act on Prime Minister Netanyahu as a perpetrator of corruption and serious human rights abuses.”