The opposition parties will “act in full cooperation of all its MKs and will fight resolutely against the judicial overhaul legislation led by the coalition,” they said Wednesday in a joint statement.
“This government is undermining the foundations of democracy, and the entire opposition will stand as a strong barrier against it until every attempt to turn Israel into a dictatorship is stopped,” they said.
They issued their statement after a meeting that included leaders of the Arab parties Ra’am (United Arab List) and Hadash Ta’al. The meeting was held shortly after the Knesset began a marathon debate on a bill to change the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee.
Several MKs from The Democrats and Yesh Atid set up makeshift offices outside of the Knesset in an area designated for protesters who support them.
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz met with Justice Minister Yariv Levin (Likud) in an attempt to convince him to rescind the bill. Levin did not budge in his position, a spokesperson for Gantz said.
Representatives of the four Jewish opposition parties spoke at a large rally outside the Knesset on Wednesday evening: National Unity MK Chili Tropper, Yesh Atid MK Meirav Cohen, Yisrael Beytenu MK Sharon Nir, and The Democrats MK Efrat Rayten.
“We are here together this evening in an important struggle over the character of the State of Israel,” Tropper said.
“This is not a struggle between supporters and opponents of the coalition, nor between Right and Left,” he said. “There are those who want to frame the struggle along those lines, because it serves their interests, because it allows them to divide and tear us apart a little more.
“But the real divide is entirely different. In the overwhelming majority of the contentious issues, the split is between a disconnected coalition and the vast majority of the Israeli public,” Tropper said.
Cohen said: “If you do not respect the Supreme Court’s ruling, then the law has no meaning anymore, the legislature has no meaning anymore, and civil obedience has no meaning. Don’t you dare take us to that point.”
“Don’t worry, we will come back and repeal this dangerous law,” she said.
The Israel Bar Association on Wednesday said it would petition the High Court of Justice against the law as soon as it passes. Bar chairman Amit Becher said the law, among other provisions, removes the Bar’s two members from the committee, replacing them with lawyers chosen by the coalition and opposition.
Law removes IBS's two members from committee
The bill is an amendment to a Basic Law, and it is unlikely the court will intervene. The court has intervened just twice in Basic Laws, both in January 2024. It canceled the Reasonableness Standard Law, and it delayed the applicability of the Incapacitation Law to the next Knesset.
Both laws were affiliated with the government’s judicial reforms.