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Judicial reform may be postponed, but demographics are on the Right’s side: Kohelet Forum head

“If this necessary reform doesn’t happen this time, it’ll happen in two years, four years or five years,” says Moshe Koppel, Chair of the Kohelet Forum.

By World Israel News Staff

The head of a right-wing think tank that helped draft the push to reform Israel’s judicial system said that while he is pessimistic the overhaul will be passed in the next session of the Knesset, he believes Israel’s rightward shift in terms of younger voters will ensure that the changes occur eventually.

Moshe Koppel, chairman of the Kohelet Forum, said in a recent interview with JNS published on Twitter that he believes there is a significant possibility that the legislation will fail to be passed in the coming months.

“We surely are going to have to have some kind of judicial reform. [But] I’m a little bit skeptical that we’re going to be able to push judicial reform through in the next session of the Knesset,” Koppel said.

“But, the demographics are obvious. The Right is getting stronger, the religious people who are part of this coalition are having more kids than others, and from a demographic point of view, it looks like the Right is probably only going to get stronger.

“So if this necessary reform doesn’t happen this time, it’ll happen in two years, four years or five years. I don’t know how much damage will be done until then, but it’s going to get done.”

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According to the 2022 Israeli Democracy Index, a majority of Israeli Jews (62 percent) identify as politically right-wing. But those numbers spike when looking at Gen Z and Millennial voters.

Seventy-three percent of Israeli Jews between the ages of 18 and 24 and 75 percent of those between 25 and 34 identify with the Right.

Koppel added during the interview that the Kohelet Forum had been in talks with former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who was “interested in their ideas” regarding judicial reform.

She tried to “move the [concept] forward” but was unable “to make much progress” due to political obstacles.

However, new Justice Minister Yariv Levin and MK Simcha Rothman, the head of the Constitution and Law committee, presented a “great opportunity” to advance judicial reform legislation.

“These are two guys who have been interested in judicial reform for years,” Koppel said. “So we had a very receptive audience there, and we brought them our ideas.”