MK: ‘King Bibi’ Trying to Subvert Political Process With High Court Proposal

Often, when the Knesset turns down a law, an MK will run to the High Court to petition its implementation. That this is done almost solely by leftist MKs is one reason that it is Likud MK Yoav Kisch who has proposed a new law that would prevent Knesset members from filing petitions to the High Court altogether.

But according to MK Michael Eitan (Likud), doing so is a bad idea. “The High Court is the best, and perhaps last, tool that those opposed to the government have, even if those opposed are a minority,” he said. “This is a radically anti-democratic move that hits at the essence of democracy. I demand that Moshe Kahlon, Benny Begin, and others intervene to prevent this from taking place, and veto this nonsense.”

The Knesset, said Kisch, is the body that is empowered with making laws in Israel, and if it decides to implement or not implement a law, then that is what has been decided. The practice of running to the court in order to perform a “runaround” of that decision is unworthy, and undemocratic. Under his law, said Kish, at least MKs themselves “will not make a mockery of the Knesset’s decisions.”

Kish said that the law had been inspired by comments made by High Court judge Asher Grunis, who said that the court was “concerned” over the rush of MKs to file petitions on laws that they disagreed with.

“The purpose of this law is to strengthen the status of the Knesset and the principle of separation of authority, essential in a democracy. I intend to put an end to this phenomenon,” he added.

“I have no doubt that it was Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who put Kisch up to this,” said Eitan. “If they could, they would abolish the legal process altogether, which is a burden for them, and implement a monarchy with King Bibi as its head.”