Attorney General approves suspension bill
At the end of a stormy Knesset committee debate, Mandelblit authorizes first reading of bill allowing a Knesset supermajority to indefinitely suspend MKs, despite warnings that it could lead to abuse and turn MKs into judges instead of elected representatives.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on Monday approved for a first reading the "suspension bill" at the the end of a stormy debate by the the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
The bill, which would allow a Knesset supermajority to indefinitely suspend MKs from committees, was initiated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of a visit by Arab MKs from Balad tothe families of terrorists whose bodies were being held by Israel.
The bill has caused much anger among many people who claim it is undemocratic. In Monday's debate over the bill, seven out of fifteen committee members voted in favor of continuing of the legislative process,while Opposition members left the hall in protest before the voting commenced.
Although Mandelblit authorized the law, he made it clear that it is to be legislated with great caution due to the difficulties that it presents. “There are inherent difficulties in trying peers on the basis of ideology, while empowering a political majority of MKs to end the tenure of a sitting, lawfully-elected Knesset member," he said. “This law provides openings for harassment of the minority by the majority, thus thwarting the will of the voters. That is why the formulation of its details requires great care.”
The bill would allow commencing a suspension process with a supermajority of 61 MKs. The legal adviser for the committee, Sigal Kogot, warned that such a majority “is an opening for abuse of an MK by a coalition. In this procedure, the MK acts as a judge and not as an elected member of the public.” As a result, Netanyahu and the chairman of the committee, MK Nisan Slomiansky (Bayit Yehudi), said they would consider raising the required majority to 70 MKs.
In the discussion that preceded the vote, representatives of the opposition in the committee harshly criticized the the bill and two MKs, Dov Khenin and Abdullah Abu Ma'aruf, both of the Joint List, were removed from the hall. “This is a low moment in the Knesset’s history and of a constitutional committee,” Khenin said and added, “the message of Netanyahu to the Arab citizens is that if their MKs anger the Jews, we will kick them out.”
“This is a targeted assassination law,” MK Revital Swid (Zionist Union) said. “They shoot down the MKs who disagree with them can and assassinate them politically forever. Hatred of Arabs blinds the MKs, up to the point of legislating a bill that no legal advisor would support.” Swid turned to chairman Slomiansky to say: “One day this law will be turned against you. What will you do then?”
Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh threatened that if any of his faction partners is pushed out, he would consider quitting. “We were not chosen by members of the Knesset, and we don’t want or try to please them,” he said.
After approval of the bill for the first reading, Netanyahu said: “I praise the coalition that come together for this important effort.” Despite their chairman's support, senior members of Likud admitted they were having difficulties defending the law in public. “I have a problem with it,” admitted a senior party member.
