Dershowitz is wrong’, says Israeli legal expert about famed attorney’s siding with anti-Netanyahu protesters

 

“It is sad that Dershowitz is choosing to weaponize these biased bodies to promote one side in a domestic Israeli legal argument.”

In an interview Sunday morning with Army Radio, world-renowned attorney Alan Dershowitz weighed in on the side of the opposition, saying that had he been in Israel Saturday night, he would have joined the protests against the new government’s planned judicial reforms, led by Justice Minister Yariv Levin.

Thousands on the far Left demonstrated Saturday night in Tel Aviv, claiming the reforms would bring an end to democracy.

Israel’s democracy is not in danger,” Dershowitz conceded, but the reforms are a threat to “civil liberties” and “minority rights.”

“Indeed, the reforms are designed to improve democracy: majority rule. What’s in danger are civil liberties, minority rights…

“There’s a direct conflict between pure democracy, where the Knesset rules because it represents the majority of people, and the rights of minorities and civil rights, which the [High Court of Justice] of Israel is designed to protect.”

According to the world-renowned attorney, known also for defending the Jewish state, it will be “much harder” to defend Israel in the public arena if the reforms are implemented.

Legal expert Eugene Kontorovich disagrees.

“Professor Dershowitz is wrong about the impact of Israel’s proposed judicial reforms on international investigations,” said Kontorovich, director of International Law at the Jerusalem-based Kohelet Policy Forum, which has advocated judicial reform in Israel for a decade.

“Israel’s assertive judiciary did not stop the International Court of Justice from condemning it in a 2004 decision. The supposed international respect for the Supreme Court has done nothing to stop the International Criminal Court from illegally and absurdly recognizing a ‘State of Palestine/ in all of the West Bank [Judea and Samaria], including in Jerusalem.

“Nothing short of unilateral, complete Israeli withdraw from all these territories would ward off further hostile action from these hostile, politicized bodies,” he said.

“It is sad that Dershowitz is choosing to weaponize these biased bodies to promote one side in a domestic Israeli legal argument.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the opposition for leading demonstrations against the reforms, citing then-finance minister Yair Lapid and former justice minister Gideon Sa’ar, main instigators of the protests who already in 2014 had pushed for change in the judicial system.

Dershowitz is a friend of former Israeli Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, a leader in the fight to prevent the implementation of the new reforms.

“Barak is the Justice who effectively created judicial tyranny in Israel.  Current reform efforts to bring Israel’s democracy back into balance is in response to his years of judicial abuse,” tweeted American conservative radio host Mark Levin. Kontorovich shared the “important thread.”

1. Barak is the Justice who effectively created judicial tyranny in Israel. Current reform efforts to bring Israel's democracy back into balance is in response to his years of judicial abuse.

— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) January 8, 2023

Stupid Biden Administration presents ancient artifact to Palestinians, To strengthen Their Lying false claims to land

 

This would be laughable if it weren't so tragic!

American and Palestinian officials gathered on Thursday at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Bethlehem for what was described as “the historic repatriation of a rare Palestinian cultural object.”

During the ceremony, the Department of Homeland Security’s investigative arm (Homeland Security Investigations) delivered a 2,700-year-old cosmetic spoon to the Palestinian Authority. The ancient tool is carved from ivory and has an etched winged figure into its front side. It was used to ladle incense onto fires and braziers at rites venerating the gods and the dead.

PA Minister of Tourism Rula Maayah welcomed the U.S. delegation.

“This artifact is important as it acquires its real scientific and archaeological value in its authentic location,” Maayah said. “The artifact that is being delivered today is a cosmetic tool that was used to pour incense and it dates to the Assyrian civilization 700-800 BC.”

Modern concepts of “Palestine” only began to emerge in the mid-19th century. It would not be until the mid-20th century—two decades after the birth of the State of Israel—that Arabs in the disputed territories would begin to show signs of a distinctive national identity.

The artifact was seized from Jewish-American billionaire Michael Steinhardt as part of a criminal probe in New York. As part of a deal to avoid prosecution, Steinhardt agreed in late 2021 to turn over $70 million worth of stolen antiquities that authorities claim were illegally acquired in Israel.

Officials say the cosmetic spoon first surfaced on the international art market in January 2003, when Steinhardt bought it from an Israeli antiques dealer who has been accused of dealing in illicit Israeli and Middle Eastern antiquities.

There is no indication as to what makes this object culturally Palestinian. Yet the head of the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs, George Noll, stated that his office “is proud to facilitate the return of this rare antiquity, an example of Palestinian cultural patrimony.”

“This is a historic moment between the American and Palestinian people and a demonstration of our belief in the power of cultural exchanges in building mutual understanding, respect, and partnership,” said Noll.

Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New York Ivan J. Arvelo said, “Antiquities trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar business with looters and smugglers turning a profit at the expense of cultural heritage. We are honored to join our partners today in the historic repatriation of this artifact to the Palestinian Authority.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg added, “We are proud to join our law enforcement and government partners in this historic moment.”

400 Items hidden by Jews in Lodz Yard Uncovered

 

About 400 items believed to have been hidden in the ground by their Jewish owners during World War II have been uncovered during house renovation work in a yard in Lodz in central Poland, media reports said Sunday.

History experts say that the objects include Hanukkah menorahs and items used in daily life, TVN 24 reported.

They are mostly silver-plated tableware, menorahs and glass containers for cosmetics, according to the regional office for the preservation of historic objects. The office’s experts said on Facebook last week that the objects will be handed over to the city’s Archaeology Museum.

The stash was found in December and two of the hanukkiahs were lighted Dec. 22 during Hannukah organized by the city’s Jewish community.

The address at 23 Polnocna Street, where the objects were found, was just outside the perimeter of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto that the occupying Nazi Germans established in Lodz in February 1940 and until August 1944 held about 200,000 Jews from across Europe. Most of the inmates died there or in concentration camps.

Finance Minister transferring NIS 139 millions of PA funds to terror victims

 

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will today (Sunday) sign the order to implement one of the measures the cabinet decided on last week to retaliate against the Palestinian Authority for seeking to bring Israel before the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

The move will transfer approximately NIS 139 million from funds for the Palestinian Authority to Israeli victims of terrorism, implementing the Litvak verdict.

The cabinet also decided to immediately offset the payments made by the PA to terrorists and their families in 2022, according to the report of the defense establishment.

Additional sanctions include the placing of a moratorium on Palestinian construction plans in Area C, following illegal take-over attempts by the PA, in opposition to international agreements, denying benefits to VIPs who are leading the political and legal war against Israel, and actions against organizations in Judea and Samaria that promote terrorist activity or any hostile activity, including political and legal action against Israel under the guise of humanitarian work.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir commented: "Our right-wing government has made its intentions clear. We made a decision in the cabinet to take immediate steps against the Palestinian Authority and its leaders. I hope and believe that more measures will be taken against those who support terrorism and try to put pressure on Israel."

Biden's Partner in Middle East Peace Says " Israelis can leave Palestine by sea or by wading into a sea of blood"

 

Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki said in a recent televised address that Israelis must choose between leaving Palestine by sea, or wading "into a sea of blood".

He praised Palestinian Arab terrorists who have taken the initiative to carry out attacks and for causing Israel to "lose sleep", and he said that the Palestinian Arabs have given "everything" for peace. He added that Israel's settler "scum" should "think about leaving".

The comments aired on Palestine TV on January 2 and were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

"If the [Israelis] want to carry out what they proposed during the elections, then they will have to choose between two options: either they leave by way of the sea, or they wade in a sea of blood," Zaki said.

"We will not be afraid of the settlers. They should think about leaving. We gave peace every chance. The time has come to prepare for all the options that are open," he added.

Zaki, who is a member of the Fatah faction headed by Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, has lashed out at Israel on several occasions.

In a speech in December of 2021, Zaki described Israel as a “ghoulish beast”.

He similarly lashed out at Israel in a televised appearance three months earlier, saying that Israelis are "sons of bitches," that they practice apartheid, that they are murderers, and "messengers of instability," while the Palestinians are "messengers of peace."

Fatah is constantly touted by the West as a “peace partner” for Israel, while its rival Hamas is denounced as a terrorist organization.

However, senior Fatah officials including chairman Abbas himself, regularly incite against Israel in official PA media outlets.

In addition, social media pages belonging to Fatah openly call for terrorism against Israelis.

Rabbi responds to uproar: The Torah forbids gay relations, what do you want from me?

 

Rabbi Meir Mazuz, head of the Kisei Rahamim Yeshiva, responded in his weekly lesson on Saturday night to the uproar following his remarks last week against the Gay Pride Parades and against Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, the first openly gay Knesset Speaker in Israel’s history.

"The country is in an uproar. What? I said? No one else said the same thing? The Torah said 'it is an abomination', what do you want from my life?" said Rabbi Mazuz.

Last week, Rabbi Mazuz implicitly hinted that Ohana, who served as Public Security Minister at the time of the Meron disaster in 2021, was responsible for the disaster.

"And impudence above all, two years ago when there was the disaster in Meron, they say that the minister who was responsible (Ohana -ed.), is infected with this disease, so there is the question of why did this happen to us? It happened, we have stay away from it!"

Before that, he attacked the pride parade and called it "the parade of beasts".

"We need to stay away from the pride parade, they are boasting that they are doing the pride parade in Jerusalem. When there is such a parade we should shut the windows, and tell the children that ‘there is a parade of beasts here’, these are animals walking on two feet, this is impudence," said Rabbi Mazuz.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday criticized Rabbi Mazuz’s tirade against Ohana.

"I strongly condemn the statements against the LGBT community and the Speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana. Every person is created in the image of God. This is the principle that was brought to humanity thousands of years ago by our people and it is the principle that guides us today as well," Netanyahu said.

Ohana himself responded to the criticism that has been directed at him.

“It is better that I fail a hundred times in unrequited love of Israel than fail once in baseless hatred of Israel,” he tweeted.

Smotrich to Ex Judge Barak: "You have caused enough damage, don't add insult to injury"

 

Religious Zionist Party chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded on Saturday night to former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak, who blasted the judicial reforms announced by Justice Minister Yariv Levin in a series of media interviews.

"The law and justice reform, which was at the center of the election campaign and won the trust of the people, will return Israeli democracy to its glory before the judicial revolution that Barak carried out in a violent unilateral coup without permission and without authority and without any consultation with the people or its elected officials, and it will be carried out with God's help," said Smotrich.

"The irresponsibility of retired judge Barak, who is threatening a civil war tonight, should cause sleepless nights for anyone who cares about democracy and the unity of the people. Judge Barak, you should apologize and retract your dangerous statements. You have caused enough damage to the State of Israel and we are fixing that now. Do not add insult to injury."

MK Moshe Saada (Likud) responded to Barak as well, saying, "In case you wondered why the reform of the judicial system is so necessary, you are invited to watch Aharon Barak's interviews from today. Such smugness, inability to accept criticism, arrogance and above all - also incitement. We are turning Israel from a self-replicating judicial oligarchy into a true democracy in which the people are the sovereign, and we will also increase trust in the judicial system."

Levin responded to the claims made by Barak on Saturday night, telling Kan 11 News, "He brought a tragedy upon Israel, and his ways contradict democracy. According to him, the judges trump the nation's elected officials who are supposed to reflect what the public wants. Where was Barak when the court took authority and trampled democracy? His suggestions for dialogue are just a way to waste time.”

"We all know how the courts look, the red tape. We all experienced the unbearable bureaucracy, which no government figure wants to take responsibility for and do something about because they receive a desist order and some other order from the court," added Levin.

Barak, in his interview with Kan 11 News, said, "Minister Levin collected all the bad proposals that were made over the years and connected them together into some kind of chain that is suffocating Israeli democracy.”

He added that "there is no greater evil than this as a constitutional revolution, the most parallel thing to this is a revolution of tanks."

Ishay Ribo Surprises Little Girl with her very own concert (she is recovering from cancer)

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The Cat that Sings "Zmirois"

 

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New Israeli Government Will Stop Taking "crap" from the Palestinians

 

In some of its first acts since coming to power, Israel’s new Security Cabinet approved a series of punitive steps against the Palestinian leadership, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Friday.

According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, the move is in retaliation for Palestinians pushing the U.N.’s highest judicial body to give its opinion on the Israeli occupation.

The development underscores the hard-line approach to the Palestinians that Israel’s new ultranationalist government has promised at a time of rising violence in the occupied territories.

It comes a week after the United Nations General Assembly voted to approve a resolution requesting that the International Court of Justice intervene and render an opinion on the legality of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Israel’s Security Cabinet described the Palestinian Authority’s request to the U.N. as a “decision to wage political and legal war against the State of Israel.”

“The current government will not sit idly by in the face of this war and will respond as necessary,” it said.

Chilonim getting fed up with Chareidim carrying the Tax burden for them

 

The tone of the op-ed below may be problematic, but the underlying concern is real. The fact that Chareidim pay one-sixth the tax of other Israelis is, as you state, due to factors like Chareidim generally being lower income – but why is that the case? A large part of it is because Chareidim in general eschew secular and advanced education that could lead to more lucrative careers – a deliberate choice that causes other Israelis to make up for the “missing” tax receipts from Chareidim.

“Kabel es haEmes miMi Sheomro” – "accept the truth from whoever says it " is a Klal from Chazal. Just because you don’t like the messenger or the way the message is put does not mean that the message is false…

In yet another display of virulent anti-chareidi incitement, Israeli newspaper The Marker, which is affiliated with Haaretz, accused the entire chareidi community of treating Israel as an “all inclusive hotel vacation, in which room service and bell boys are secularists.”

The op-ed article queried how in infrastructure, finance and housing “a minority of the population, whose part in paying taxes and public duties is negligible, defines the economic path of Israel.”

The writer adds that 2022 “opened our eyes and everything became clear. It is the year that a civil war broke out – non- violent but unmistakable. It is here.”

Recently the Kalkalist newspaper published by Yediot Aharonot ran a similarly incendiary title,claiming that “secular people pay six times more taxes than chareidim”, a populist claim considering the fact that most chareidim are low-income large families in a low tax bracket while secularists have fewer children, live in more expensive environments and earn significantly more.

Chareidi journalist Yishai Cohen warned that the anti-chareidi media attacks could lead to verbal and physical abuse against chareidim. Such abuse indeed occurred on an Israeli train this week, as journalist Mordechai Halperin was greeted by a secularist stating: “Parasite, die, ask your G-d why you’re still alive, a guy like you should be under a tombstone, just get out of here.”

Zera Shimshon Parshas Va'Yechi

 

Senior Israeli Rabbinate Official Arrested For Molesting Chareidi Minor

 

David Malka 

Chanie

A senior member of the Jerusalem Religious Council has been arrested on charges of molestation and sexual offenses against a young woman during the period when she was aged 13 to 17.

The senior official is 47-year-old David Malka, who was the director of the Kashrus department in the Jerusalem rabbinate at the time when the alleged crimes were committed and was the boss of the 13-year-old girl’s father.

 

The woman, who is now aged 27, came forward to complain because Israeli law says that the prescriptive period for sexual offenses against minors is 10 years from the age of 18 onwards, recognizing that not all minors realize the extent of the harm they have suffered. The woman, identified as Chani, wished to submit the complaints before the statute of limitations concluded.

Malka was a close friend of Chani’s family and the alleged crimes occurred at a number of locations including his home when Chani was babysitting for his children. She claimed that he had admitted his acts and even apologized a number of times.

After Malka was arrested, his remand was extended a number of times, while claiming that “many of the crimes committed years ago have passed the statute of limitations and therefore there is no reason to keep him in custody. 

A final decision will be reached in the next few weeks.”

Chani was shocked by this decision and decided to go to the media. In a Ynet interview she spoke openly and said that “ I’m disappointed, hurt and insulted, I feel that the state slapped me in the face. I wish to thank police for their sensitive treatment of this case, they did all they could for me.”

Chani described the ordeal she had undergone from Malka:

 “David was the best friend of my father from work. He, his wife and children would meet with my family on numerous occasions. One evening when I went with my father to eat at a restaurant, he couldn’t take me back and asked David to do so instead. I was at a rough time in my life, my parents had divorced. I told him how hard it was for me and he said: “I’ll be here for you, I’ll be like your psychologist.

“I was at the most fragile point in my life and he exploited it, told me to tell him about everything, said that ‘you don’t need a psychologist’

“After a few months of giving me emotional support which I so needed, he asked me to come to his office to take something for my father. It was late and the workers at the office had left. He wanted to hug me and do other things. On other occasions he asked that I should come so I could ‘talk’ but things got worse. There were times when he physically hurt me but I convinced myself that it would be over soon, I didn’t want to lose a listening ear and the emotional support that he was giving me.

“I would babysit his children and when I slept in their room he would molest me. I could’t fight him off,” she says regretfully. “He was my father’s boss, 20 years older than me. He was very charismatic and always knew how to say the right words.”

Chani later left the country but Malka still tracked her and attempted to control her life. It was only later, after she underwent therapy, that she realized she had been the victim of serious sexual offenses and exploitation.

Chani decided to meet with Malka and record his words in order to get a confession which she could use in her complaint. Malka indeed apologized for his behavior. “A person who goes and robs a bank can say that he needed money for drugs, food etc. but that doesn’t mean one can rob a bank. In your specific case, it shouldn’t have happened and I should have protected you from such actions,” Malka said on record. “It’s not that I’m trying to justify the actions. I’m embarrassed that I have reached this situation with you, with my friend [your father] and with myself. I ask you to accept these words from me.”

Chani spoke openly with the media. She knows that other women were attacked by Malka and hopes that they will also come forward. “I have nothing to be embarrassed about or to hide. I said the truth. I hope whoever was harmed by him will come to police and submit a complaint.”

Arab Imam States that "Al-Aqsa Mosque is not in Palestine and Mohammad was never in Jerusalem "

 

Pour votre éducation pic.twitter.com/GP1czONvwi

— dc (@dico61) January 4, 2023

Manny Cohen 79 Brooklyn jeweler clinging to life after brutal beating by brazen thieves

 

An elderly Brooklyn jeweler was sent to the ICU after a pair of brazen thieves attacked him before robbing his store of six figures worth of merchandise — as his family on Wednesday decried criminals’ “golden ticket” to wreak havoc in New York City.

Manny Cohen, 79, was closing Roxy Jewelry Store on Flatbush Avenue around 5:30 p.m. Dec. 30 when two men forced their way inside and beat him within an inch of his life.

Speaking to The Post on Wednesday, Cohen’s son, Shawn, described the horror of finding out what had happened to his dad after he failed to return home for Friday night dinner.

“[My father] did not answer his phone calls, and that prompted me to check the cameras,” Shawn Cohen said. 

“Once I scrolled back on the camera, I saw that he was being robbed … I saw that they were beating my father to death.”

Surveillance footage showed the sick thieves attempting to hide his dad’s body under the subfloor — before spending over 20 minutes stuffing their pockets full of jewelry, Cohen said.

The pair made off with more than $100,000 in merchandise, according to the NYPD, which released an image of the still-at-large suspects on Sunday.

Several days later, the elderly shopkeeper remains in the ICU with a severe brain injury, his son said. His prognosis is still unclear.

“They did everything with the intention to kill a 79-year-old,” Cohen said of the thieves.

He also shared that his dad — who has run Roxy Jewelry for 25 years — had to get staples in his head last month when someone threw a rock at him while he was helping a customer. 

“From the description at the time, we believe it was the same people who did this second attack,” he said.

When asked if he was confident in law enforcement’s ability to apprehend the attackers, Cohen said be believed the perpetrators would be caught — but that he had “zero confidence” in the city’s ability to keep them off the streets.

“For anyone to do this, they have to feel confident enough and brave enough to make such an attack,” he told The Post.

“[Criminals] have a golden ticket [from the prosecutor’s office] to carry out these kind of attacks in New York City.”

Surveillance footage shows the thieves spent 20 minutes putting jewels in their pockets.

‘Condemn violence on the Temple Mount, not people who come to pray’ .......Ben-Gvir Consulted With His "Daat Torah" Before Ascending!

 Former MK Yehuda Glick discusses with ILTV the international uproar since Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s ascent to the Temple Mount on Tuesday.

MK Limor Son Har-Melech from the Otzma Yehudit Party spoke to Israel National News on Wednesday and commented on the uproar following the visit of the chairman of her party, Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, to the Temple Mount.

"I am less bothered by the reactions in the world. It bothers me that people from among us stand up and appear as though they are giving a briefing to Hamas, cooperating with our enemies and telling them what needs to be done. It is unfathomable and that is the thing that bothers me the most personally," she said.

“After all, it is the most natural thing in the world for Jews to ascend to their holiest site, but someone instilled in us an awareness that it is dangerous. I believe that we are strong enough and that, with our true resilience, these things will happen and pass. This ascension is an expression of the people of Israel coming back to themselves and yesterday, the Tenth of Tevet, was the most appropriate day to remind our people what needs to be fixed. We need to hold onto this truth without apologizing," continued Son Har-Melech.

On the argument that going up to the Temple Mount goes against the halakha, she noted that Ben Gvir has "great rabbis and Torah scholars who know the halakha and they are the ones who ruled that he can go. He does not do things arbitrarily. He is committed to the halakha. Personally, I listen to the rulings of Rabbi Dov Lior, who says that women shouldn't enter the Temple Mount, therefore you won't see me go up like Itamar did."

She added that members of Knesset from the Likud and other parties congratulated her on the step taken by Ben Gvir and she did not hear any criticism from them. "There is a process taking place here and slowly people realize that there is no other option and we have to say clear things if we want to win this campaign."

"Our defense establishment is ready for all scenarios," stated Son Har-Melech, adding that Ben Gvir consulted with senior officials in the defense establishment before the Temple Mount visit and they all claimed that there was nothing standing his way. "We need to listen to the outcries from the world but also deal with them in a proportionate manner."

Watch and Listen to the incredible voice of Chazzan Yisrael Rand at an impromptu gathering

                                                        

Dog Watches Sad Movie and becomes very sad!

 

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‘Genuine wind of change’: New diaspora minister halts funding to leftist NGO

 

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli of the Likud.

The swearing-in on Thursday of Israel’s 37th government elicited a collective sigh of relief from right-wing voters, for whom the nearly two full months that it took Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to forge his coalition felt like an eternity. As soon as the ministers finished uttering their oaths of office, however, there was a sense on the part of supporters that the upshot of the arduous negotiations had been worth the wait.

With the team finally in place and ready to get to work, the shrill warnings by naysayers about the imminent demise of Israeli democracy were relegated to background noise. Ironically, while most of the hysteria surrounded the portfolios and plans of the “extremist” haredim and religious Zionists—and vow of the incoming crew to reform the judicial system—the first concrete action came from Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli of the Likud.

Chikli, who is also the minister of social equality, announced on Saturday that he was ordering the immediate halt to an agreement approved by his predecessor, Nachman Shai—shortly after the Nov. 1 Knesset elections—to provide millions of tax shekels to a left-wing organization promoting a program in the United States whose tracks include “leadership research in the fields of justice and gender equality.”

There will no longer be a situation whereby judges in Israel elect themselves in back rooms with no oversight

 

Justice Minister Yariv Levin 

Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Wednesday evening announced the government’s controversial plan to overhaul the legal system that would include exerting political control over Israel’s leftwing judiciary.

“As someone who grew up on Menachem Begin’s knees, I believe that there are judges in Jerusalem,” Levin said, referencing Israel’s first conservative prime minister from the late 1970s.

“But there is also a Knesset and a government in Jerusalem. The constitutional revolution of the judicial system has degraded trust in the system to a dangerous low, and damaged democracy and governance. People we did not elect decide for us. It is time to act,” said Levin.

Levin proposed four reforms: The first would see the Justice Minister electing two public representatives to the 9-member committee that elects the judges as well as establishing a public hearing for candidates.

“There will no longer be a situation whereby judges elect themselves in back rooms with no oversight,” he said.