Hotovely - There are legislators in Jerusalem

MK Tzipi Hotovely
Israel Hayom
05 December '11

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=957

Israel's newspapers warn us that democracy is under attack. To be honest, there is some truth to this. If we define democracy as the rule of the people, we are seeing more and more efforts to hamper the people's ability to rule. We are witnessing a well-orchestrated onslaught under the heading "the people should be replaced"– to borrow a phrase coined by former MK Yitzhak Ben-Aharon [who famously said, following the Likud's 1977 election upset, "if that is the people's will, then the people should be replaced"].

It began with a media campaign to de-legitimize a string of bills presented to the Knesset recently. The fourth branch of government – the media – rushed to divide legislators into sons of light and sons of darkness, and to label each bill with a derogatory nickname reflecting its own views.

Thus, the proposed amendment to the NGO law [which aims to limit funding to nongovernmental organizations] became the "law to dry up the left-wing NGOs," while the proposed amendment to the libel law became the "mouth-shutting law."

In this manner the media prevented any substantive discussion of these bills, some of which I also found objectionable, even though they all legitimately aim to correct failures within Israeli democracy. Comparisons to Nazi Germany – as ridiculous as they may be – have become a fixture on every newspaper's op-ed page.

Many Knesset members have happily jumped on this bandwagon. Opposition leader Tzipi Livni went a step further and declared that Israel had swapped roles with Egypt – with Egypt moving toward democracy and Israel turning into a totalitarian regime.



More recently, the top echelon of the judiciary branch also joined this incitement campaign. First the state prosecutor said he would "hunt down" anyone who threatened the courts, then Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch gave an unprecedented speech criticizing both the executive and the legislative branches of government.

As opposed to what the media would have us believe, this campaign is not targeting the right-wing MKs. This campaign is actually targeting the very foundations of democracy. A group of intellectuals has banded together against the central body that represents the people. The members of the judicial system are forgetting their lessons on [French political thinker] Montesquieu's separation of powers and are trying to undermine the Knesset's right to legislate.

This is not a case of the court overturning another law, this is a case of the court blocking public discourse. The judicial system has carried out a targeted assassination of any proposal it does not agree with, without being asked to explain itself. The chief justice, as smart and brilliant as she may be, was not elected by the people. Therefore, if this law or that law is not to her liking, she must show some respect and wait for the court to be petitioned on the matter before expressing an opinion, and even then she should conduct a fair discussion. Criticizing and even defaming MKs, and particularly ministers, while refusing to back up your argument by naming names, cannot be described as anything but wild and dangerous incitement – no less dangerous than the legislation she is criticizing.

Seconds before fair and balanced discourse takes its leave of Israel forever, Israeli democracy must stand strong against the attack. In a democracy, one must always remember that it is not only the minority that has the right to voice its views, the majority is also allowed to weigh in on whether a bill is worthy or not.

It is the duty of each side to express opposition to moves it does not approve of. But to defame and incite the Knesset – that is no one's right. Menachem Begin once declared: "There are judges in Jerusalem." Jerusalem – may I remind you – also has legislators.

The writer is a Likud MK.


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