This past week, Israelis voted in the third election in recent months and again, as of the writing of this article, neither the right nor the left block has enough seats to form a government (the official results are not complete, but the unofficial ones are out). The results, that the Likud party under the leadership of Bibi Netanyahu gained a number of seats, while Blue and White, under Benny Gantz, came in second, is incomprehensible to the left wing parties.

Incomprehensible? Apparently incomprehensible situations require remediation. First though, some Israeli political facts are in order:

  • The Arab parties that sit in the Knesset sit in protest of the existence of Israel.
  • For this reason the Arab parties have never been part of a ruling coalition.
  • The Oslo Accords would not have passed without two conditions, illegal bribes to two Knesset members and the supporting votes of the Arab parties.
  • Knesset members of the Arab parties actively engaged in and in some cases have been charged with treason for their activities against the state.

(OHAYON AVI לע"מ) MK Bashara the founder of Balad party who spy for Hizballa.

In this context, an initiative is being formulated by the leftist Blue and White party which "lost" the election. Politicians and public figures on the left have floated a plan to establish a temporary government under the leadership of Benny Gantz and with the support of the Arab party, which will have one and only one purpose: the passage of a law that will prevent a person who has been charged with an offence, indicted by a judge, from being appointed Prime Minister.

Let no one be fooled, the sole purpose of this law is to prevent Netanyahu from becoming Prime Minister.

The legal precept "innocent until proven guilty" is one of the foundations of western civilization and individual rights, human rights and legal fairness are the currency of the left - but it seems that this is true only when those values align with their political goals. Due process and the opportunity to defend one's self are basic rights - except if it prevents the left from winning.

(Amos Ben Gershom לע"מ) Netanyahu and Mandelblit during better times.

Enacting a law that would prevent someone under indictment from serving as Prime Minister means that a Prime Minister, and only a Prime Minister is guilty until proved innocent which is contrary to the right of presumed innocence. Such a law would confer authority on a political appointee in the justice system, the Attorney General of Israel, who is also the Chief Prosecutor of the State of Israel, to determine who will be Prime Minister.

The Attorney General of Israel, and only the Attorney General decides who is indicted with a crime in the State of Israel. This decision is made strictly at his own discretion, free of any supervising body, with the slight exception of the court.  However, even that court ruling is made only after an indictment has been filed. The transfer of the authority to select a Prime Minister from the electorate, the people, to an unelected official, a political appointee, is no less than turning Israel into a dictatorship. The Legal Forum will use all available means to fight against the enactment of such a law.

Separating the functions and position of the General Prosecutor from that of the Attorney General, a combination of spheres of authority and action unheard of except in Israel, and strengthening the judicial review mechanisms have been primary goals of the Legal Forum since its inception. The legal Forum has been working on both of these initiatives non-stop, and we will continue to work in order to preserve Israel as both a Zionist and democratic state.