Efforts by the governing coalition to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee will only politicize the justice system and erode public trust, the only opposition member of the committee told The Times of Israel.

Pushing back against Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s plan to fundamentally change the composition of the body tasked with choosing judges, Yesh Atid MK Karine Elharrar said that “it seems a little strange to me that we want to go to a process that is much more politicized.”

Such a change would diminish trust in the judicial system, she said. “So I believe in more professionalism. I believe that if there is a need to fix it, we need to bring in more professionals.”

Elharrar did not specify what kind of professionals she had in mind.

Levin recently reached an agreement with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to advance a compromise judicial overhaul — which would increase political power over judicial appointments and curb the High Court’s ability to strike down legislation passed by the Knesset, but would stop short of some measures that sparked massive anti-government protests in 2023.

Unlike the original overhaul, the moves unveiled last month........

© The Times of Israel