Court Order     

With Israel rocked by mass protests over the Netanyahu government’s proposed justice system reforms, veteran Degel HaTorah chair Moshe Gafni explains why the High Court’s power is a chareidi issue, recalls Rav Shach’s view of the right, and says that despite the chaos of Bibi’s sixth term, this coalition is the only way forward

IN the midst of the chaos enveloping Israel’s justice system, with mass protests from the opposition and international condemnation of the Netanyahu government’s proposed reforms, the chareidi representatives in the Knesset are staying silent. After years of bearing the brunt of the High Court’s rulings, chareidim find themselves in the position of having others do the dirty work for them.

Degel HaTorah chair Moshe Gafni, currently the longest-serving member of the Israeli Knesset, has a unique perspective on the threats to the country’s economy that the left wing warn about from his vantage point as chair of the Knesset Finance Committee, responsible for supervising the state budget. This is Gafni’s fourth term as chair, which has gained added significance due to the economic angle of the judicial crisis.

Gafni has long been considered the most moderate member of the right-wing bloc, and now he finds himself serving in a government anchored by parties far to the right of the Likud’s normal coalition partners. In a lengthy interview spanning everything from the judicial reform to Rav Shach’s instructions to ally with the right, Gafni’s tone was notably combative, clarifying why, for the right-wing-religious bloc that’s in power, judicial reform is the call of the hour.

As chair of the Knesset Finance Committee, you’ve always been careful to make sure the left also feels at home on your committee. But there’s a sense that the current government is pulling out all the stops, as seen in Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s aggressive speech announcing judicial reform. As someone who’s always taken an approach of moderation, don’t you think it’s a mistake to go all out?

The judicial reform legislation is going through the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, not mine, but I do want to say something about this issue. Look, there are two branches in the Israeli government. There’s the elected branch, which is the Knesset and cabinet, and there’s the judiciary, specifically the High Court.