Former minister Gideon Sa'ar is holding a conference this evening (Tuesday) at Bar Ilan University under the title "Begin's Legacy" and the struggle over current Justice Minister Yariv Levin's judicial reforms
"Israel is navigating the greatest constitutional and regime crisis in its history. The democratic regime is under attack and the motive is clear - the political takeover of the prosecution which is conducting the criminal proceedings against the Prime Minister," accused Sa'ar.
He added, "My opinion is known. The legal system needs reforms. Moves that I began to implement in legislation as a member of the Knesset, and in the last year and a half in my position as Justice Minister. What kind of reform is needed? An evolutionary and not a revolutionary reform. A reform based on our administrative tradition and on the basic principles that were agreed upon in the past. A reform whose goal is making the necessary corrections in the system and not its destruction. A reform with the judicial system and not against it. And this is despite all the partially justified criticism that the system has resisted almost any change over the years. A reform that, G-d forbid, will not eliminate the independence of the judiciary and the professionalism of the public legal service, and will in no way politicize them. A reform that will serve Israeli society and not political and personal interests."
Sa'ar added that Israeli society needs a constitution. "We are at a conference on Menachem Begin's administrative and democratic legacy. At the time of the establishment of the state, Begin and the Herut Movement were at the forefront of pushing for a constitution, something in which the government was not interested at that time. Due to this historical oversight, countless mishaps arose over the years, and because of this, to a large extent, we find ourselves in the current situation in which there is no social or political agreement regarding the rules of the game. For any society, but especially in a country like Israel, which is surrounded by enemies and external threats, this is very dangerous. The last comprehensive attempt in which I took part was that of Michael Eitan, who headed the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee in the 16th Knesset. With all its inherent difficulties, there is no alternative but to strive for this goal."
In Sa'ar's opinion, there should be talks about judicial reform. "There should be the attempt to reach broad agreement on the content of a basic law: legislation, which includes how to enact and amend basic laws, an explicit anchoring of the judicial review against the Knesset legislation and, in my opinion, also an over-ride with an absolute majority and under certain conditions. Certainly not the proposed move that will cancel supervision of Knesset legislation by the judiciary. A move based on a simple majority and not on broad agreement will be tragic in terms of the ability of Israeli society to agree on the fundamental rules of the regime and will greatly exacerbate the social rift within us."
"The purpose of tonight's gathering is twofold. To reaffirm the foundations of Menachem Begin's and the national movement's regime concept. This is how you can understand how far this proposal is from the proposals offered today by those who head the movement that Begin founded and headed. And let's not get confused, I respect Yariv Levin, my replacement in the position of Justice Minister, but there really isn't a Levin plan. This is Netanyahu's plan. The voice is Levin's voice and the hands are Netanyahu's. The second goal is to critically discuss the destructive plan while also trying to examine evidence for alternatives. Many members of the national movement, the national religious public, and the traditional public are opposed to the destructive plan and it is important to harness them today."
According to Sa’ar, "From here, from Bar Ilan University, I am embarking on a civil journey in Israel. I will present to the public an ideological, reasoned alternative based on the ideological roots of the national movement. There is no going back to the roots without connecting with the public - that is what I intend to do."
Former President Reuven Rivlin said: "I came here because the time is such that we need to express our concern. There is no need to destroy everything when we all know that the main thing of concern is the Jewish State."
"The mindset reeks of revenge and settling accounts," Rivlin said.
The conference will be attended by former senior members of the judicial system, including the former Attorney General, Dr. Avihai Mandelblit.