WhatsappSharing this very important facebook post written in Hebrew, translated into English:
Addressing my friends who oppose the judicial reform (really my friends and comrades), there is something basic that you do not understand:
I’m not about to provide an argument based on whataboutisms. Rather, I just want to remind you about the rules of the democratic game.
It cannot be that for 30 years laws were able to be invalidated by the Supreme Court based on a basic law, by virtue of the title of the law alone as a “Basic Law”, but now it is wrong to define it as a basic law.
It cannot be that for 50 years left-wing organizations and associations have received trillions of dollars from foreign countries, use that money to interfere in the guts of Israeli legislation and Israel’s Supreme Court and suddenly when a right-wing organization does this, it is considered terrible.
It cannot be that Israeli media and politicians deposed and humiliated IDF soldiers who merely expressed their disapproval with taking part in expelling Jews from Gush Katif back in 2005, but now IDF soldiers who speak about refusing to serve, or listen to any orders, even to bomb Iran if necessary, are celebrated by the media and politicians.
Back in the protests against the Gaza expulsion you all screamed that right-wing activists doing roadblocks would “kill someone” but suddenly leftists blocking roads is patriotic and the height of Zionism.
It cannot be that for two decades since the Gaza expulsion, every religious IDF soldier in every unit is asked: “What prevails over what – the commander’s command or the rabbi’s mitzvot?” And suddenly it is allowed to refuse a commander who calls you to attack in Iran, because there is a reform.
It cannot be that the Supreme Court takes more and more powers from the executive and the legislative, violates the balance with the Knesset in a unilateral and rude way, invalidates a law on average once a year, never restrains itself and suddenly when the Knesset wants to balance the situation, the Supreme Court states that it is a violation of the principle of separation of powers.
It cannot be that until the 1990s we were a democracy even without the existence of the reasonableness cause, but suddenly getting rid of that clause will seriously damage Israeli democracy.
It cannot be that former left-wing Justice Minister Nissenkorn appointed 61 judges at a meeting of the judges selection committee as the sole representatives of the left, without trying to reach compromises with the right-wing government representatives in the committee and everything was fine, yet suddenly everything needs to be done in the committee with the agreement of both parties because of “democracy”.
It cannot be that a mega-decision like the Oslo peace process was made by the Israeli government by a majority of one vote and no consensus agreement was required, despite the stormy demonstrations and the rift in the people at the time, yet suddenly now everything has to be done with consensus.
It can’t be that you talk all the time about the “poison machine” regarding the discourse on the right, yet suddenly it’s okay to call an assistant to a right-wing MK a “Yudo Nazi”.
It can’t be that Bennett made all his election promises to only sit with Netanyahu, threw them in the trash and formed a government against everything he promised, betraying his voters, and that was ok, yet suddenly you say “Likud didn’t promise judicial reform before the elections…”
in brief, our wanting this judicial reform is nothing against you, and it’s not revenge, it’s not because of anything, we just want it.
These are simply the rules of the democratic game that you set.
And everyone is allowed to play.
