Jewish Home Party Seeks D9 Bulldozer On Judge Appointment Committee

D-10 units might be considered for the position, as well, but only qualified candidates would merit serious attention.

Jerusalem, July 29 – Leaders of the nationalist Jewish Home Party want an armored bulldozer on the committee that appoints judges to the High Court of Justice, the party’s chairman told reporters today.

Minister of Education Naftali Bennett called a press conference in reaction to the Court’s ruling this morning that demolition of several illegally built houses abutting the community of Bet El may proceed apace. Activists and security personnel have clashed in recent days over the structures, which were built without permits on land belonging to a Palestinian. Bennett called on his constituents not to oppose the now-greenlit destruction of the buildings now that the Court had issued its ruling, but said that he and his allies in the Coalition would seek changes to the composition of the committee charged with selecting and vetting new members of the judiciary, with the aim of securing the appointment of a D-9 vehicle as a judge. D-9s have historically been associated more with demolition of terrorist positions and illegal Palestinian civilian structures, and Bennett said he believes the presence of one on the committee would help prevent what he called the High Court’s current “misuse of resources and abuse of jurisprudence to undermine the Zionist project.”

“While we respect the rule of law and honor the Court’s ruling in the Dreinoff case,” he said, referring to the contractor who built the structures in Bet El, “this distortion of priorities is a plague that we must wipe out. An institution ostensibly charged with securing the democratic future of the Jewish State has all too frequently undermined the Jewish resettlement of the nation’s historic and spiritual heartland, and that attitude must shift.” He added that D-10 units might be considered for the position, as well, but that only qualified candidates would merit serious attention.

Experts say Bennett faces an uphill fight. Jewish Home’s second-highest-ranking MK, Ayelet Shaked, is the Minister of Justice, but her impact on the judicial nominations process is diluted by other committee members from government institutions whose leadership does not necessarily see eye-to-eye with her on construction and settlement issues. “No one is going to pretend that political ideology plays a key, if not the key, role, in different parties’ views of who is best suited to judicial positions,” explained analyst Cater Pillar. “While any number of D-9s might possess the requisite background and experience, especially in the relevant fields, it will prove no simple task to win over committee members who have built their political careers trying to limit activity closely associated with D-9s. Whether or not those committee delegates will have the integrity and courage to speak frankly in the presence of a D-9 remains an untested question.”

Pillar had no comment on reports that the Zionist Union faction was trying to get Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas onto the Committee.