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As Knesset Showdown Looms, Will Four Likudniks Stand Up for Israel?

The last hope to save Israel from a looming constitutional crisis is if four members of the ruling Likud party declare that they will put their country ahead of their party.
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March 25, 2023
Yoav Gallant, Avi Dichter, Danny Danon, David Bitan, Yuli Edelstein and Nir Bakat

Forget for a moment which side you’re on in the judicial overhaul crisis roiling Israeli society, and ask yourself this question: Is it a good idea to have a broad consensus when you want to make significant changes to the country’s legal system?

This is not a partisan question. The need for broad support for constitutional changes has nothing to do with whether you’re right, left or center. It has to do with common sense and whether you put the interest of the country first.

We’re not talking here about typical legislation to address problems in education, infrastructure, health care, the economy or other such items that are usually on the Knesset agenda and have their own controversies and arguments.

No, the judicial overhaul is on another level. It is first and foremost about power. It’s the equivalent of drafting a unilateral Constitution that transfers enormous power to those very politicians who are drafting it and ramming it through the parliament with their 4-seat majority.

This bare majority is salivating not at the prospect of improving the economy or the country’s health care, but at the prospect of having so much power. Because the new constitution would allow them to override High Court rulings, there would be virtually no check on their authority. I will let your imagination run with that scenario.

As if we’ve reached the climax of a Hollywood thriller, the showdown week has arrived. Before it recesses on April 2 for the Passover holiday, the Knesset will be the scene of a fateful battle as the coalition is planning to push through a key component of the overhaul.

When they enter the hallowed halls of the Israeli parliament, will the hard-charging coalition members hear the echoes of the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have been demonstrating for the past 12 weeks? Or will they hear only their intense desire to grab as much power as they can, knowing they’ll be liberated from High Court oversight?

Will they hear the rebukes, as Amotz Asa-El wrote, “of entrepreneurs, economists, industrialists, rabbis, literati, former heads of the Mossad, Shin Bet, Rafael, the Atomic Energy Committee and a battery of retired generals including ten air-force commanders?”

Or will they remain cold-blooded and oblivious to the civil earthquake they have unleashed on their country?

Will they hear the voice of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who considers the overhaul a “tangible danger” to Israel’s security and has called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to halt it long enough to engage in negotiations to reach a compromise?

Or will they stiffen their necks and push through something they know will only exacerbate the unprecedented civil strife that has broken out throughout their nation?

If these coalition members want what’s best for Israel, the decision is radically obvious: Take a time out and accept President Herzog’s invitation to negotiate a compromise that will have broader national support.

But if Bibi and his minions still refuse to make that happen, who can?

The last hope to save Israel from a looming constitutional crisis is if four members of the ruling Likud party declare that they will put their country ahead of their party.

If these four members announce that they won’t vote for the reforms in their current state, but only after they have broader support, the legislation will fall short by one vote and they will force the process of compromise that the country desperately needs.

Will it happen?

It’s a lot more likely now than it was a few weeks ago. Already, several Likud members are making waves. In addition to Defense Minister Gallant, Yuli Edelstein, who is the chair of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, released this statement:

“The majority of the people want and understand the need for changes in the judicial system, but this must be done with patience, dialogue, and broad discourse in order to reach a broad consensus.”

Other Likud MK’s, like Avi Dichter, Danny Danon, David Bitan and Eli Dallal, have reportedly called to halt the judicial revolution in favor of dialogue, while Economy Minister Nir Barkat has vowed to obey the court should it override the reform.

Beyond their supportive statements, though, the question that really matters is: How will they vote?

As if we needed more drama, Coalition whip Ofir Katz has said that whoever doesn’t vote in favor of the judicial overhaul “has ended his career in the Likud.”

Here’s my response to Katz: If I have to pick between any political party and healing the nation, I’ll pick healing the nation. It’s a no brainer.

Here’s my response to Katz: If I have to pick between any political party and healing the nation, I’ll pick healing the nation. It’s a no brainer.

Many of us who love Israel are hoping that at least four brave Likud MK’s will agree. And if they do step up and put their country first, we ought to make them the heroes of our Passover seders, one for each cup.

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