The passing of the reasonableness standard bill on Monday was met with a combination of celebration from the government.
“We are now going out to a long recess now, and I am starting it knowing that we passed an important law, but without joy and with a real desire to bring together all parts of the people,” said Justice Minister Yariv Levin in the plenum after the bill passed.
While Levin’s speech combined celebration with an acknowledgment of the domestic crisis in the country, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who had tried to help reach a last-minute compromise before the vote, was entirely celebratory.
“After hard work and years-long effort, we are beginning to repair the judicial system and return the balance between the authorities.”
Minister Bezalel Smotrich
“After hard work and years-long effort, we are beginning to repair the judicial system and return the balance between the authorities which was broken 30 years ago by Aharon Barak,” he tweeted after the bill passed. “Thank you to the prime minister, coalition members, the justice minister, and to my partner and colleague Simcha Rothman. Together, we will continue to repair responsibly.”
“The state of Israel will be a little more democratic from today,” said National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. “The law we passed today is important for democracy, but this is only the beginning. For a more Jewish and more democratic State of Israel, we have to pass the rest of the reform at the top of which is the Judicial Selection Committee makeup and changing the authority of attorney-generals.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid addresses the press after the reasonableness standard passes into law. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)“There is no danger to democracy, and there’s no place for refusals,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said to reservists. “This is a very dangerous campaign that can severely harm the IDF and Israeli society. I think the former generals who supported this did a very dangerous thing. They activated the judgment day weapon.”
He added that “what we are doing now is calming the reservists, putting together a full picture, and explaining to them that all hope is not lost because we cannot be without them. I know their threats are real, and I call on them not to actualize them.”
Gallant ended by committing to not allowing anyone to harm democracy.
Opposition MKs encourage High Court to strike down law
After the vote, opposition leader Yair Lapid addressed the press.
“I look at the coalition celebrating and ask, what are they celebrating?” he said. “The fact that you’re breaking apart the Jewish state we have? The fact that people who served together in reserve service for 30 years are canceling their annual meeting because they know it will end badly?
“Today, we saw an unprecedented show of weakness by Netanyahu. There is no prime minister in Israel. Netanyahu has become a puppet on a string of messianic extremists.
“This is a complete violation of the rules of the game.”
MK Yair Lapid
“In a democracy sometimes you lose and sometimes you win. We all understand that. But what happened here today is not within the framework of democracy. It’s something else. This is a complete violation of the rules of the game.
“We will not give up. We will not surrender. We will not let them turn Israel into a broken, undemocratic country, which is run by hatred and extremism.”
He then addressed the reservists, telling them to wait until the High Court of Justice has discussed the new law before striking.
“Knowingly and with eyes wide open, the government today passed a law that seriously harms the national interest and ignores the heart of the majority of the public who expressed their cry in an unprecedented manner,” said MK Gideon Sa’ar. “My friends and I are committed to continuing the fight for the image and future of the country. Those who cheered today in the Knesset plenum after the vote – will be punished by the people of Israel at the ballot box.”
“This is a messianic government on steroids,” said MK Avigdor Liberman. “Passing the law to cancel the reasonableness standard means [Shas Chairman Arye] Deri is back among the line of ministers and getting rid of the attorney-general. I call on the High Court of Justice to disqualify the law that just passed in the Knesset plenum. The State of Israel cannot turn into North Korea.”
“It is unfortunate that the vote today took place with the slimmest possible majority,” said a statement from the White House. “We believe that for major democratic changes, you need to work for consensus. We urge Israeli leaders to work toward a consensus-based approach through political dialogue.”
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