Opposition MK elected to powerful judicial committee following dramatic Knesset vote

Opposition lawmaker Karine Elharrar from Yesh Atid has been elected to the Judicial Selections Committee after a dramatic vote in the Knesset on Wednesday. 

Elharrar received 58 votes in favour of her appointment and 56 Knesset against. Meanwhile, Likud lawmaker Tally Gotliv didn’t receive enough votes, winning just 15 votes and 59 voting against.

This means that one spot remains open on the committee, triggering another vote will take place within 30 days.

The result is seen as a victory for the opposition, which has fought to keep the current makeup of the committee that elects judges to the High Court of Justice.

Prior to the vote, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party and Benny Gantz’s National Unity party had insisted to have one opposition lawmaker as a representative on the committee if they were to continue negotiating with the coalition over its judicial reforms.

But shortly after the vote, both Lapid and Gantz announced they would pause the negotiations until the second vote has been cast.

“Once Netanyahu was a fraud and strong. Today he’s a fraud and weak. Without a committee, there are no talks,” Lapid said.

Gantz also lashed out at Netanyahu, saying he had “Netanyahu surrendered to extremists.”

“What happened today is that the prime minister decided to go against the country. He tried and failed,” Gantz said.

The makeup of the Judicial Selections Committee has been among the most contentious issues between the opposition and the government, with the latter seeking to take install its representatives so that it would have the majority vote and thus be in charge of appointing High Court judges.