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Israeli Gov’t Braces as Countdown Begins for Critical Votes
Another rip in an already torn coalition? Binyamin Netanyahu (left) and Benny Gantz. (US State Department; Reuven Kapochinsky/Israel Resilience Party)

Israeli Gov’t Braces as Countdown Begins for Critical Votes

Opposition’s controversial bill poses problems for Prime Minister Netanyahu, prime minister-in-waiting Gantz

Israel’s parliament was buzzing on Tuesday as lawmakers prepared for a busy and perhaps fateful next day. Two major pieces of legislation will be introduced on the parliament’s floor on Wednesday, one possibly extending the current government’s life, the other extinguishing it almost immediately. By Wednesday evening, Israel will probably know if it is headed for its fourth election in 18 months.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz agreed to advance on Wednesday a bill postponing the Aug. 25 budget deadline. Without an extension, if the deadline passes and no budget has been passed, elections would be triggered automatically. Some essential details have yet to be hammered out and the entire deal could easily fall apart – leaving the unity coalition with less than two weeks to pass a budget – a practical impossibility.

Even more perilous for the fragile, troubled Likud and Blue-and-White government is the controversial bill scheduled to be voted on later that day.

Introduced by opposition leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, the draft calls for banning anyone indicted for a crime of moral turpitude – Netanyahu’s situation – from serving as prime minister.

“This is a very problematic law, and it poses quite a complex question,” says Prof. Gad Barzilai, a former dean of Haifa University’s Law Faculty. “For starters, we all know what it’s about – an attempt to bar Netanyahu from running in the next elections. So the bill seems like a personal law, which is unconstitutional.”

“In addition,” Barzilai says, “it might contradict one of Israel’s Basic Laws [a set of laws that have de facto constitutional status], which states that anyone can serve as prime minister as long as they weren’t convicted of a crime.”

“For these two reasons, [the proposed bill] may eventually be struck down by the Supreme Court.”

Still, Barzilai sees some sense in the measure. “Israel’s situation is pretty unique, in that there are no term limits [for head of government] … and no official constitution that anchors civil and human rights. The potential threat to these rights, by a ruler who is elected over and over again and is facing trial, is substantial,” he told The Media Line.

“Therefore, there is some justification for such a law, prohibiting anyone indicted for a crime of moral turpitude to be elected head of government. I believe that if they pass it as an amendment to the Basic Law instead of as a normal bill [a process that demands a larger majority than a regular vote], the Supreme Court won’t strike it down as unconstitutional.”

By Tuesday evening, however, the discussions of whether the bill would be upheld in court seemed theoretical.

Blue and White, which prior to signing the coalition pact with Netanyahu pledged to pass the same legislation with then-partner Lapid, announced that its members would not be present for the vote, out of concern that their support would enrage the prime minister and lead to immediate elections.

“Our fundamental stance on the issue hasn’t changed and won’t change,” a Blue-and-White spokesperson told reporters Tuesday. “But right now, this is simply an attempt to destabilize the entire political system. At the height of one of the worst crises Israel has ever faced, we will do anything to avoid another election.”

Even without Blue and White’s presence, the opposition’s proposal may still pass, as only a simple majority is needed for the bill’s first reading. (A bill must pass three readings to become law.) In that case – still an unlikely scenario if the Likud manages to muster all its votes – Netanyahu says he will dissolve the government and call for elections to be held.

President Reuven Rivlin, speaking with reporters Tuesday evening, addressed the growing talk of another election and did not mince words. “We cannot possibly keep entertaining this possibility as if it’s a reasonable scenario, while at the same time counting our dead,” the president said, referring to the mounting toll the coronavirus pandemic has taken in Israel.

“If that is where you will lead us, you will deal this country a harsh, painful and unforgivable blow. Be very careful,” Rivlin warned lawmakers.

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