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RAMALLAH: Elections for the Israeli Bar Association were held Tuesday against the backdrop of controversial judicial reforms.

The two strongest candidates for the chairmanship of association are Amit Becher, the interim head of the organization and head of the “Hope for the IBA” slate, and its former chairman, Efi Nave.

In 2019, Nave was arrested on suspicion of advancing the judicial appointments of women in return for sexual favors. The State Attorney’s Office eventually declined to prosecute since crucial evidence against him was obtained by illegally hacking his phone.

Nave has expressed support for legal reform, though has said he opposes “large portions” of the radical proposals made by Justice Minister Yariv Levin at the outset of his judicial overhaul program.
Regardless, Nave is backed by senior coalition figures and government allies and is seen as likely to cooperate with Levin.

Becher, meanwhile, is seen as the anti-government reform candidate.

The Bar Association has 77,000 members, including around 10,000 Arab lawyers.

Mohammed Naamneh, a member of the Judges Appointment Committee, told Arab News he was working to get Arab lawyers to vote to maintain a solid Arab presence and representation in the association.

“The essence of the heated debate between the right and the left, and the government coalition today, is about the judicial appointment committee, which includes two members from the Bar Association,” Naamneh told Arab News. “We expect positive results in our favor so that we maintain an independent Bar Association.”

Attorney Majdi Halabi, from Haifa, told Arab News after casting his vote that most of the country’s participating lawyers are against the judicial reforms, championed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Political analyst Jalal Banna told Arab News that a win for Nave would weaken the Bar Association and the Arab vote within it.

Attorney Alaa Alaeddin said the Arab vote in the elections is crucial to the image and future of the union.

“The Bar Association elections have been politicized in an unprecedented way, as politicians in the government coalition want to control the Bar Council, which elects the Committee for the Appointment of Judges in the State of Israel,” Aladdin said. “The Bar Association elections affect every lawyer and citizen in Israel.”

Arab lawyers have formed a joint list called “The Path of Arab Dignity and Integrity,” which declared support for Becher.

Aladdin hopes that if the list succeeds in obtaining many votes, it will have a role in influencing the union’s policies in the future.

“We do not want to be affiliated with other candidates, but rather to be a strong independent list with the largest number of delegates,” Aladdin said.

Israeli legal experts say the elections will affect the image of Israel and the independence of its judiciary.

Many Palestinians living in Israel and with Israeli citizenship believe a weak bet on the independence of the Israeli judiciary is all that is left for them.

“The independence of the judiciary is the last thing left to defend democracy with the minimum that we benefit from,” said Aladdin, who believes that the Arabs will be the first to be affected if the Israeli right-wing takes control of the Bar Association’s board of directors.

Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, and National Unity MK Gideon Sa’ar, support Becher, who has pledged to “restore honor to the profession, to protect the legal system’s independence.”

The results of the elections may be declared by Wednesday morning.