Now Netanyahu allies target Israeli Bar Association as part of its ‘War on the Law’

Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition continued its ‘war on the law’ on Wednesday by progressing a bill to strip the Israeli Bar Association (IBA) of its powers.

In a 50-43 vote, parliamentarians passed a preliminary reading of a bill that would remove the IBA’s seats on a panel that selects judges. Those seats would instead pass to a new body controlled by the government.

It is the government’s latest assault on the judiciary, which has become a target for Netanyahu’s far-right and strictly Orthodox coalition partners, after judges gave a series of unwelcome rulings on issues such as the Orthodox military exemption and religious nationalists’ efforts to discriminate against Israeli Arabs.

Now the IBA is in the firing line after Israel’s lawyers elected Amit Becher to head the body a few weeks ago. Becher is a vocal critic of the government’s efforts to reduce the power and the independence of the courts and Wednesday’s vote was being seen by analysts as Netanyahu’s allies’ revenge.

If passed, it would remove the IBA’s licensing authority, its ability to sanction lawyers for misconduct, and its representation on the committee that selects judges. Combined, this would render the association essentially powerless.

A yet-to-be-created Lawyers Council – led by a judge chosen by the justice minister – would then take over the IBA’s licencing, sanctioning, and selecting roles, in effect giving ministers ultimate power over who acts as Israeli lawyers.

Becher said the bill was “thuggish, anti-democratic and absurd,” adding that lawyers could “shut down” the judicial system if it became law, which would require three more plenum votes.

Likud politician Hanoch Milwidsky said the bar association was “an archaic guild” and that “there is no point to the involvement of a professional union in the judge-selection process”.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin said the IBA was now “a completely political body, with membership fees being used for political goals unrelated to the benefit of lawyers”.

Former justice minister Gideon Sa’ar, who opposes the bill, told Levin that he was in favour of the bar association until “your political interest changed… now it has to be eliminated”. He added that Netanyahu’s coalition was “operating like a mafia”.