Archiv: Knesset (legislative branch)


10.04.2024 - 16:32 [ Times of Israel ]

Of course Netanyahu should go – in an orderly process that gives our enemies cause for fear

(today)

And therefore, as was the case when he insisted on continuing to run the country while in the midst of a corruption trial, and as was the case when he pressed on with his assault on Israeli democracy and briefly fired that defense minister, so too, now, it falls to a potential few good men and women within his own coalition base to tell him that his presence is harming Israel, that his policies empowered and emboldened Hamas, and that far from being uniquely capable of ensuring Israel has the practical and diplomatic room to destroy Hamas, he is almost uniquely incapable of doing so.

10.04.2024 - 16:30 [ New York Times ]

Netanyahu Must Go

(09.04.2024)

Israel must destroy Hamas as a military and political force in the territory while minimizing harm to civilians. It must do what it can to rescue its hostages without jeopardizing the overriding goal of destroying Hamas. It must, by diplomacy or force, push Hezbollah back from Lebanon’s southern border, so that 60,000 Israelis can return safely to their homes in the north. It must take the battle directly, as it did last week in Damascus, to Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s patrons, whether in Syria, Qatar or Iran.

And for all of that to happen effectively, Benjamin Netanyahu must go.

31.01.2024 - 18:35 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

Racist Ben Gvir Warns Hadash Leader ‘Next in Line’ to Be Expelled from Knesset

Racist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir appears to threaten Hadash MK Ayman Odeh with impeachment, tweeting out a picture of him with the message “next in line.” The photo shared by Ben Gvir shows Odeh holding the arm of Khalida Jarrar, a legislator and senior figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as she flashes a victory sign following her release from prison in September 2021. On last December 27, Jarrar was arrested again by occupation forces.

The far-right leader’s message comes hours after members of the Knesset House Committee overwhelmingly supported a motion to expel Hadash-Ta’al party lawmaker Ofer Cassif, voting 14-2 to advance his impeachment to the Knesset plenum following two days of contentious debate. During Tuesday’s debate on Cassif’s impeachment, Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi warned the Communist lawmaker’s ouster would “set a precedent” allowing for the impeachment of “all the Arab MKs in the Knesset.” “This is a black day for the Knesset,” Tibi declares following the vote.

31.01.2024 - 18:30 [ Adalah.org ]

Adalah: Motion to Expel Israeli Knesset Member for Supporting South Africa’s ICJ Case Is Unlawful

30/01/2024

Today, the Knesset’s House Committee voted to expel Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, based on his public support for South Africa‘s application to the ICJ accusing Israel of genocide. Adalah: The motion is a deliberate attempt to suppress political dissent against Israel‘s brutal military campaign on Gaza

30.01.2024 - 14:00 [ Jonathan Berger / Twitter ]

“‘You can’t say that Cassif only wanted to stop the war, he’s accusing Israel of genocide,’ screams Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer ….” ? Ruckus at Knesset panel as deputy AG says expelling far-left MK lacks legal basis

30.01.2024 - 13:23 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

European MPs Call for EU to Oppose Removal of Hadash MK Ofer Cassif

On Monday morning, the Knesset House Committee is slated to hear arguments in an unusual debate that will determine the political future of Communist lawmaker Ofer Cassif, from the Hadash-Ta’al parliamentary faction.

If the hearing goes badly for Cassif, he could soon face an unprecedented vote in the Knesset plenum to expel him from the legislative body, the result of his far-right MKs anger over his public support for a South African petition to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Four years ago, lawmakers attempted to gather the required signatures to bring similar charges against Hadash leader MK Ayman Odeh, but the effort never made it to the committee stage.

30.01.2024 - 13:09 [ Al Jazeera ]

‘Why I support ICJ Gaza genocide case against my country, Israel’

(11.01.2024)

Israeli politician Ofer Cassif announced his support for the Gaza genocide lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ, and is now facing an attempt to get him kicked out of parliament. He explains why he did it.

30.01.2024 - 13:05 [ JNS.org ]

Knesset debates booting lawmaker who supported ICJ genocide case

Forer announced the move after Cassif signed a petition in support of the South African case against the Jewish state and claimed that members of the government were calling for ethnic cleansing and even genocide.

Eighty-seven MKs subsequently signed on to the initiative, passing the minimum threshold required for lawmakers to remove a colleague who expresses “support for an armed struggle by an enemy state, or a terrorist organization against the State of Israel.”

23.01.2024 - 04:44 [ Times of Israel ]

No-confidence motion against Netanyahu fails in Knesset, with only 18 votes in favor

With the government’s popularity plummeting, a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nevertheless garnered only 18 votes in the Knesset on Monday evening, falling far short of the necessary majority to pass in the 120-strong Knesset plenum.

The vote was boycotted by the coalition, whose heads stated earlier in the day that they would “not take part in political theater during wartime.”

17.01.2024 - 22:44 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

Hadash MK Cassif: ‘They Want to Silence Us’

MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) is being threatened with expulsion from Israel’s parliament after he signed a petition supporting South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing it of acts of genocide. Cassif says the impeachment is based on an antidemocratic law that suppresses free speech. “They want me and my friends to shut up,” he says of the far-right government’s persecution of dissenting legislators in an interview to Amy Goodman broadcasted by Democracy Now! “We’ve been against the war from the beginning because we are against bloodshed.”

28.12.2023 - 15:32 [ Times of Israel ]

Thousands of teens march to the Knesset to demand return of remaining hostages in Gaza

The teens set out from Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Sunday and will reach the Knesset later today, where they will stage a protest calling for a new deal to return the remaining hostages still held in Gaza.

29.11.2023 - 13:28 [ Times of Israel ]

Police disperse protest by bereaved families at Knesset: ‘Why didn’t anyone protect my parents?’

Police disperse a protest against the government by bereaved families outside the Knesset in Jerusalem.

“Why didn’t anyone protect my parents,” says Maoz Inon to an officer as they try to move him.

Inon’s parents, Bilha and Yakovi Inon, 78 and 75, were killed in Netiv Ha’asara on October 7.

17.11.2023 - 07:47 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

Another Hadash MK Sanctioned Over Statements Against Gaza War

(15.11.2023)

Touma-Sliman, who the committee said did not apologize and did not recant her statements, is barred from Knesset committee and plenum sessions for two months, and also receives a two-week pay deduction.

On October 19, the Ethics Committee of the Knesset suspended another Communist lawmaker, MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash), for what it deemed as “anti-Israel statements after the war in Gaza broke out.” Cassif has been suspended for 45 days.

19.10.2023 - 10:40 [ MK Aida Touma-Sliman / Twitter ]

בין ילדים אכן יש סימטריה. ילד הוא ילד בעוטף ובעזה! היום יותר מכל פעם אחרת אנו מתעקשים שיש ותמיד היתה דרך אחרת – פתרון פוליטי מדיני שיסיים את הכיבוש ויבטיח חיים וביטחון לכולם!

(17.10.2023)

19.10.2023 - 10:32 [ Nimrod Flaschenberg, from Tel Aviv. Now in Berlin. / Twitter ]

My former boss MK @AidaTuma said in Knesset that no child, neither Jew nor Palestinian, is guilty and that no child should be a victim of this blood cycle. MK Merav Ben-Ari, a member of Lapid’a party, responded: “The children in Gaza brought it upon themselves.“

(16.10.2023)

12.10.2023 - 17:46 [ Times of Israel ]

IDF chief Halevi admits military failed to prevent Hamas attack, vows to investigate

Halevi says a time will come to investigate how Hamas managed to carry out the attack.

06.09.2023 - 23:55 [ Haaretz ]

„Know the Limits of Your Power“: Knesset Speaker Threatens Israel‘s High Court Ahead of Dramatic Judicial Coup Hearing

Israel‘s Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana warned Supreme Court justices on Wednesday that the parliament „will not acquiesce to its trampling,“ less than a week before the court is set to hear petitions against a key law in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s judicial coup.

06.09.2023 - 21:44 [ Times of Israel ]

Knesset speaker warns High Court voiding of Basic Laws may ‘plunge us into the abyss’

“Israel is democratic, and in a democracy, the sovereign is the people. In a democratic state, the justice system respects the sovereign, the people and its elected officials, and this respect is mutual. There is no debate, and there cannot be one, over the question of whether the Knesset has authorized the court to nullify Basic Laws,” he says, arguing that the court possesses no such power.

10.08.2023 - 14:20 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

Knesset Okays ‘Sexual Terrorism’ Racist Law

(03.08.2023)

Sponsored by a group of lawmakers led by MK Limor Son Har Melech, from the racist coalition faction Otzma Yehudit, and MK Yulia Malinovsky from right-wing opposition party Yisrael Beytenu, the new law marked a rare case of cross-Knesset alignment and passed 39 to 7 on its final reading.

Sharp criticism of the law quickly came in from Hadash-Ta’al lawmakers and Israel’s rape crisis center umbrella organization, with both alleging the law improperly creates a ranking of the severity of such crimes. Hadash-Ta’al MK Aida Touma-Sliman, a former head of the Knesset’s Women’s Status Committee, told the Knesset: “Do not punish according to hierarchies and classifications.” “Shame on these laws,” she continued, tweeting after the law passed, “Don’t promote racism on the backs of victims!”

01.08.2023 - 09:19 [ Ynetnews.com ]

Netanyahu still not committing to abiding by Supreme Court ruling

Netanyahu, who has refused to answer questions from the Israeli media has been giving interviews to American Networks. „I think we have to follow two rules. One is that Israeli governments abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court and the at the same time the Supreme Court respects the basic laws which are the closes thing we have to a constitution. I think we should keep both principles.“

01.08.2023 - 09:06 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Israel: Oberster Gerichtshof plant Anhörung zu Justizreform

Der Staat Israel hat keine Verfassung und fußt dagegen auf einer Sammlung von Grundgesetzen.

Bei der im Parlament beschlossenen Abschaffung des sogenannten Angemessenheitsstandards handelt es sich um eine Änderung eines dieser Grundgesetze. In Israels Geschichte wurde bisher noch nie ein vergleichbares Gesetz vom Obersten Gericht einkassiert. Sollte dies nun geschehen und die Regierung die Entscheidung nicht akzeptieren, droht dem Land eine Staatskrise.

01.08.2023 - 09:04 [ Haaretz ]

In First, All 15 of Israel’s Supreme Court Justices Will Hear Petitions on Judicial Coup Law Curbing Its Power

After the abolishment of the reasonableness clause last week, the High Court did not issue an interim injunction to freeze the amendment to the law. According to Justice David Mintz’s decision, the hearing will take place after the court’s recess, before the departure of Justices Hayut and Anat Baron, who are considered liberal judges, in October.

It was also decided that the government and the Knesset will submit their responses to the petitions up to ten days before the hearing.

24.07.2023 - 18:37 [ Ynetnews.com ]

Police battle protesters blocking roads in Jerusalem after Knesset approves bill limiting Supreme Court

Tens of thousands of protesters are filling the Jerusalem streets in front of the Knesset building and blocked Begin highway, the main thoroughfare through Jerusalem, late Monday afternoon after the Knesset passed the first legislation as part of its judicial overhaul push, a law limiting the oversight power of the Supreme Court over the executive and legislative branches.

24.07.2023 - 18:24 [ Times of Israel ]

Coalition passes 1st judicial overhaul law, limiting review of government decisions

Despite 29 weeks of unprecedented protests, all 64 coalition members back ‘reasonableness’ bill in final vote after 30 hours of plenum discussion; entire opposition walks out

24.07.2023 - 12:16 [ Times of Israel ]

Last votes on ‘reasonableness’ bill to begin soon as 26-hour filibuster nears end

After the second reading, the Knesset is expected to quickly proceed to the third reading, which is the decisive vote.

Opposition parties decided this morning to boycott the final vote, which may be expected in the late afternoon or early evening.

24.07.2023 - 11:58 [ Washington Post ]

In photos: The battle at the Knesset

As Israeli lawmakers prepare to vote on the judicial overhaul plans backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demonstrators are blocking the entrance to parliament, and security forces are using water cannons to disperse them

24.07.2023 - 11:49 [ Washington Post ]

Protesters face off with police at the Israeli parliament

Protesters chained themselves to fences, linked arms and lay down in roads to block access to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament in central Jerusalem.

Police dragged prone demonstrators from the pavement and deployed water cannons to clear routes to the compound.

24.07.2023 - 10:54 [ Times of Israel ]

Protester hurt outside Knesset after being struck in head by police water cannon

A protester near the Knesset is injured after being struck in the head by a police water cannon.

There is no immediate word on the demonstrator’s condition as an ambulance is called to the scene.

24.07.2023 - 10:42 [ Tmes of Israel ]

Police deploy water cannon against anti-overhaul protesters blocking access to Knesset

Police deploy water cannons in Jerusalem to clear protesters blocking roads leading to the Knesset, where lawmakers are deliberating the coalition’s contentious “reasonableness” bill ahead of the final votes.

23.07.2023 - 12:15 [ Times of Israel ]

Knesset begins final votes on reasonableness law, curbing court review of decisions

Advanced on a rushed timeline that only dedicated nine committee sessions to preparing the core text for a substantive amendment to one of Israel’s quasi-constitutional Basic Laws, the bill is expected to clear extensive filibusters to become law by Monday or Tuesday, in line with the coalition’s goal to show movement on its judicial overhaul program before the Knesset breaks forits summer recess on July 30

23.07.2023 - 11:40 [ i24news.tv ]

Israel: Knesset to debate on major part of govt‘s judicial reform

Israel‘s parliament has entered two crucial days to determine the country’s future. Starting from Sunday noon, the Knesset debates will be held on a judicial reform bill submitted by the coalition and aimed at limiting the Israeli courts’ ability to rule on the „reasonableness“ of the government’s decisions.

19.07.2023 - 18:06 [ Bloomberg ]

Israel’s First Female Attorney General at Center of Judicial Storm

It would be highly unusual for the prime minister to fire the attorney general but also rather difficult as long as the Supreme Court can use the reasonableness test to reinstate her. Should that be removed from judges’ toolkits, however, it would be easier.

18.07.2023 - 08:31 [ Haaretz ]

„Day of Resistance“: Nationwide Protests Grip Israel as Netanyahu‘s Coalition Pushes Judicial Coup Bill in Knesset

sraelis erupt against Netanyahu‘s coalition as it advances crucial bill to limit judiciary in Knesset, while senior ministers pledge to persist with further overhaul legislation

16.07.2023 - 07:17 [ Haaretz ]

Israel Protest to Ramp Up as Knesset Plans to Continue With Judicial Overhaul

These include ones putting pressure on the head of the country’s largest federation of trade unions, with the aim of shutting down the national economy.

The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee will convene at 9:30 A.M. Sunday to continue deliberations on repealing the reasonableness standard used by courts in their review of government decisions.

11.07.2023 - 19:07 [ Haaretz ]

Reasonableness Standard: Netanyahu Gov‘t Advances Key Judicial Overhaul Bill, Setting Stage for Nationwide Protests

Following the initial vote, the bill awaits discussion in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, which will be held on Tuesday. The bill must clear two additional Knesset votes to pass into law.

11.07.2023 - 19:02 [ .24news.tv ]

Israel passes ‘Reasonableness Standard’ bill through first stage

Late Monday night, the Israeli parliament passed the bill through its first stage of three in the Knesset. It was planned on Tuesday to progress the bill through the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

10.07.2023 - 19:47 [ Ynetnews.com ]

The reasonableness standard is about to be canceled by Israel‘s government. Mass protests are planned.

The legislation was approved by the Knesset‘s Constitution Committee last week. According to the wording of the proposal, „those who have judicial authority according to law, including the Supreme Court when sitting as a high court of justice, will not discuss or issue an order against the government, the prime minister, a minister or another elected official regarding the reasonableness of their decision.“

10.07.2023 - 11:10 [ Haaretz ]

Netanyahu Gov’t to Vote on Key Part of Judicial Coup as Protesters Threaten Nationwide Rallies

The full Knesset will begin voting Monday afternoon on the amendment to the Basic Law on the Judiciary. The session will begin at 4 P.M. with debate, followed by a vote on a motion of no-confidence in the government submitted by the opposition. Lawmakers will then take up the reasonableness bill.

The bill to be voted on follows the wording it contained before lawmakers held deliberations on it. During the five meetings of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on the bill, not a single change was introduced.

10.07.2023 - 11:07 [ Times of Israel ]

MKs to vote on bill barring judges from reviewing ‘reasonableness’ of gov’t decisions

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his justice minister and the head of the Knesset committee sponsoring the bill to “soften” the language so as not to shield local city halls from petitions for judicial review, the bill’s language has not so far been changed.

MK Simcha Rothman, who heads the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, said that the current bill will not apply to mayors, but declined to remove the “other elected officials” clause, smoothing the way to easily expand the bill’s scope.

09.07.2023 - 20:00 [ Haaretz ]

They Incited Rabin‘s Murder. Now They‘re Murdering Israel‘s Democracy

Following Rabin’s murder, the public turned against Netanyahu. Many believed his political career was over. But he was soon brought to power amid a wave of terror by Hamas and a slick campaign capitalizing on the public‘s fears.

And that original assault against democracy, secular law and territorial compromise that launched both Netanyahu’s career and the ascent of the religious right, is today continuing its illiberal advance via a legal hijacking.

08.07.2023 - 18:07 [ Haaretz ]

Explained: How Israel’s top court could lose a key power to rein in the government

This week, it is laser-focused on unilaterally eliminating what is known as the “reasonableness standard” – the power of the High Court of Justice to block government decisions it deems unreasonable or implausible.

08.07.2023 - 14:00 [ Haaretz ]

Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir‘s Tyranny Must Be Stopped

Because Israel has no constitution and lacks a tradition of respecting the law and fundamental democratic principles, it’s enough to replace a few key people – the attorney general, the governor of the Bank of Israel, the Supreme Court president, the police commissioner and of course the heads of the security services – to pave a fast lane to tyranny and internal repression.

So it’s obvious why Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and their colleagues are working to replace a cadre of top officials in government agencies and making it clear that their replacements will be judged by only one criterion – their willingness to please the government and obey it without question.

08.07.2023 - 13:52 [ Times of Israel ]

Protests ramp up for 27th week as bill to curtail judicial oversight set for 1st vote

An increased turnout was expected at protests across the country on Saturday evening, with a bill to curtail judicial oversight over government decisions set to have its first reading in the Knesset on Monday.

Leaders of the protest movement against the hardline coalition’s judicial overhaul plans have pledged to further intensify their opposition to the government’s renewed efforts to dramatically weaken the judiciary.

08.07.2023 - 13:33 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

Hadash Lawmaker Brutally Cut Off After Jenin Comments in Knesset

During the deliberations, a storm erupted in the Knesset plenum when MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) stated in regard to the occupation forces operation in Jenin: “Every action has a reaction. There’s a reaction to the occupation, and that’s the resistance. Long live the Jenin Refugee Camp! Boo to you!” Odeh accused the far-right coalition MKs, saying: “Everyone’s blood for your accursed occupation, you are behaving not only as criminals but also as fools. Everyone is proud of Jenin and rightly so, and now more people will join the fighters against this accursed occupation. Every action has a response because it is the law of nature, the occupation has a response and this is the resistance, the resistance to the occupation is legitimate, long live the Jenin refugee camp, long live the Palestinian struggle.”

Odeh was immediately kicked off the podium after his support for Palestinians in Jenin and said, “Take me down, but the Palestinian people will continue to struggle.”

07.07.2023 - 04:05 [ Haaretz ]

Israel Is Hours Away From Becoming a De Facto Dictatorship

The masks have been removed. On one side stand Benjamin Netanyahu and his partners, determined to degrade Israel into a corrupt and racist dictatorship that will crumble society, isolate the country and jeopardize its future. Facing them is a protest movement comprised of loyalists to Israel’s Declaration of Independence and the law. This is the force that stopped the insane blitz on the night the prime minister fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (a decision he reversed two weeks later). And this is the force that will stop the “Polish salami” on steroids that has replaced it.

05.07.2023 - 19:03 [ Haaretz ]

Netanyahu‘s Judicial Overhaul: Knesset Takes First Step to Disband Israel‘s Bar Association

The Knesset passed in a preliminary vote on Wednesday a bill to dismantle the Israel Bar Association and replace it with a politically appointed council. The bill would replace the bar association with a “lawyer’s council” with its head appointed by the justice minister.

The bar association selects two people named to the Judicial Appointments Committee, whose composition the coalition seeks to alter in its favor. Last month, the election for its leadership saw the candidate backed by opponents of the judicial overhaul overwhelmingly defeating his rival, a supporter of the overhaul.

04.07.2023 - 19:04 [ Times of Israel ]

Opposition leaders say advancing ‘reasonableness’ bill harms Israelis

Despite breaking off compromise talks last month, Yesh Atid and National Unity party heads say that it is still “possible to reach agreements, it is possible to make changes in the judicial system for the good of Israeli citizens and not for the tyranny of the majority and corrupt appointments.”

04.07.2023 - 18:43 [ Jerusalem Post ]

Four MKs apply to vacant Judicial Selection Committee spot as repeat vote nears

The nine-member Judicial Selection Committee includes three High Court justices, one of whom is the chief justice; two ministers, one of whom is the justice minister; two Knesset members; and two representatives of the Israel Bar Association (IBA). One each of the judges, ministers, MKs and IBA representatives must be a woman.

The committee is responsible for appointing judges at all levels of Israel‘s civil court system.

04.07.2023 - 18:33 [ Haaretz ]

„Reasonableness Standard“: Knesset Panel Greenlights Bill Key to Israel‘s Judicial Coup

Religious Zionism lawmaker Simcha Rothman, chair of the committee and a key architect of the judicial overhaul, said he intends to advance the motion which seeks to reduce the courts’ ability to overturn government decisions it deems illegal, on Tuesday afternoon, setting it up for a vote in the Knesset itself next week.