The unions had given the government a deadline of 4 p.m. on Sunday to stop legislation before they go on strike.
The Likud rejected a proposal by Arnon Bar-David, the leader of Israel’s national workers’ union, the Histadrut, and Dubi Amitai, chairman of the presidium of the Israeli business sector on Sunday for a compromised version of the reasonableness standard bill, which is scheduled to pass into law on Monday afternoon.
The proposal was published after it was presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, and to opposition leader MK Yair Lapid on Sunday morning.
The unions had given the government a deadline of 4 p.m. on Sunday to stop legislation before they go on strike.
The Likud said in a statement, “The Histadrut’s proposal, which is identical to that of [opposition leader MK Yair] Lapid’s, is a one-sided acceptance of the opposition’s position as it had been the entire way. The proposal completely nullifies the proposal on reasonableness, and requires a complete concession of all the other parts of the reform. We will continue to make every effort for true compromise and expect that all sides seriously enlist for the effort, and not return us to the starting point.”
The “reasonableness standard bill” is an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary, that would block Israel’s courts from applying what is known as the “reasonableness standard” to decisions made by elected officials. The standard is a common law doctrine that allows for judicial review against government administrative decisions that are deemed beyond the scope of what a responsible and reasonable authority would undertake.
Arnon Bar-David, Chairman of the Histadrut, speaks at a press conference attended by heads from the Israeli commerce sector attend a press conference at the Histadrut Union in Tel Aviv on March 27, 2023. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)The bill’s current wording bars use of the standard for decisions made by the prime minister, the cabinet as a whole, or any specific minister. It also bars its use against a minister’s decision not to use his or her authority, and on ministers’ appointments of government workers.
According to Bar-David and Amitai’s proposal, the bill will be altered so that it will apply only to decisions made by the cabinet as a whole. This means that appointments or policy decisions made in the cabinet will be immune from application of the reasonableness standard but the standard will still apply regarding decisions made by individual ministers. If the decisions by individual ministers are on policy matters which are then ratified in the cabinet – they, too, will be exempt from the application of the reasonableness standard.
With regard to governmental appointments, Bar-David and Amitai’s proposal is that appointments that require the Knesset’s approval, such as appointments of ministers, will also be immune to the reasonableness standard, but appointments that do not require the Knesset’s approval, such as director’s general of government ministries or senior bureaucratic positions, will be subject to review via the reasonableness standard.
Finally, all of the changes above will not apply to decisions made during an interim government, i.e. from the moment an election is announced until a new government is formed.
This proposal is identical to one laid out last week by President and CEO of the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) and former dean of the law faculty of Bar-Ilan University, Yedidya Stern, and former Deputy Attorney General Raz Nizri.
Discussion of open dialogue
However, Bar-David and Amitai added a provision, according to which the government will declare that for the next 18 months, no judicial reform bills will pass without the support of at least 75 Knesset members. Bar-David and Amitai also requested that the prime minister summon the leaders of the opposition for direct negotiations.
The Kaplan Force umbrella protest organizations rejected the proposal.
“The demands of the protest movement have not changed from day one: discarding all of the legislation and declaring that deep changes in the system of government will only be made with broad consensus,” Kaplan Force said in a statement.
“Compromises at the end of which Israel’s becomes a dictatorship are worse than a resolution [of the conflict]. This is a proposal whose entire essence is to bring the criminal [Shas chairman MK Aryeh] Deri back to the government’s table, and will not necessarily prevent the firing of gatekeepers and senior officials in public service if they do not surrender to the whims of politicians.”
Bar-David said after meeting with Lapid, “I will continue to turn over every stone and work with all my might to try and find the right compromise.
“I call on others involved to show responsible leadership.”
Lapid said after the meeting, “The State of Israel is in a critical moment and experiencing a struggle for its image and its soul. It is our duty to make every effort to stop the madness and reach broad agreements. I welcome the efforts of the Histadrut chairman, the outline laid out by the Histadrut is a basis for common dialogue.”
Comments are closed.