The Judicial Selection Committee was hijacked by Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn, Head of the Israel Bar Association Avi Himi, and Supreme Court Esther Chief Justice Hayut when they appointed dozens of judges to different courts without any deliberation, protocols, or transparency. The leaders of the nationalist camp should surely lose sleep if they still want to place conservative judges in courts.
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The joyful reception of Justice Menachem Mazuz's retirement announcement and speculation that it might lead to a conservative majority in the Supreme Court if the Likud wins the next election shows that the nationalist camp simply doesn't comprehend the magnitude of this challenge.
The resignation announcement had apparently been scheduled to allow Nissenkorn, Himi, and Hayut to appoint an activist replacement judge in an expedited procedure before the election.
It is safe to assume that tremendous pressure is being put on Chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Zvi Hauser, to obtain the majority vote needed to appoint a judge to the Supreme Court.
I myself am in favor of reforming the Judicial Selection Committee. I have written about it many times in the past. We must abolish the judges' veto power altogether; committee deliberations must become more transparent and the politicians' influence must be increased over the influence of the jurists.
Many speak about the option of abolishing the Committee in favor of giving the Knesset the authority to appoint judges. And even though they appear on newspaper front pages for a short while, they should be careful not to get caught up in hidden and visible obstacles.
The option of implementing comprehensive reform in the Knesset is not foolproof, as there will always be Knesset members who will try stopping it.
There are plenty of examples of this: Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, and former MK Moshe Kahlon.
And even if 61 Knesset members vote in favor of abolishing the Committee, the High Court of Justice will most likely overrule such legislation using the unconstitutional constitutional amendment or by abuse of power on the Knesset's part.
What is the nationalist camp to do then? Two things. Firstly, it needs to publicly formulate a list of reputable judges who oppose former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak's constitutional revolution and activism.
Secondly, the Likud needs to announce that if it wins the election, it will appoint the judges from that list.
That's what US President Donald Trump did during his presidential campaign against Hillary Clinton. He sent a message to the Republican political base that he would keep his promise to appoint conservative justices to the Supreme Court.
As part of the second step, using the US precedent, the Likud should prepare a nuclear option in case existing judges and other parties try undermining its effort to appoint new judges from its list.
And that option should not be based on pointless speeches, protests, and other futile efforts. It should allow for an exit from the dead-end deadlock the Judicial Selection Committee will probably find itself in – a legislative proposal that cancels the majority necessary for the appointment of a Supreme Court judge or gives the Knesset the authority to appoint the judge in case of a deadlock.
The possibility of passing such a proposal must be determined in the coalition agreement of the future government.
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