1. We need an independent judicial system
The highly-emphasized claim is incorrect as the judicial system is already dependent. Judges are part of a judicial oligarchy, or what retired judge Varda Aleshech called "a family." Independence and oligarchy do not go together. When judges are appointed based on connections and ideological closeness – rather than ability – there is no independence. The proposed reform will increase the independence of the judges and their dependence on each other, thus strengthening the judicial system.
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2. There is no separation of powers in Israel
In most of the world and throughout history, governments were coalitions, with the party (or coalition of parties) with the majority making up the government. It's logical and natural, because the government has to do what the parliament determines, and governments that do not enjoy the support of the parliament are paralyzed governments.
If governments controlled the parliament and not the other way around (as the Left claims), then governments would never fall. The constant tension between the government and the parliament is an essential part of democracy, and a situation where the tension turns into conflict is the one where democracy is actually broken because the government does not enjoy the trust of the people's representatives.
3. There's a lack of checks and balances
The claim is, of course, correct, but the direction of the need to balance is incorrect. Currently in Israel, unlike in other developed countries, there is nothing to balance the Supreme Court. All other countries have some kind of mechanism, either through a change in the law or the constitution or through a special majority.
4. Why now?
The Right has been talking about the need for a legal reform for almost 30 years. And not just the Right, but leftists and centrists – such as Yitzhak Rabin, Yosef Lapid and his son Yair Lapid, Avigdor Lieberman, Tzipi Livni, Reuven Rivlin, Ehud Olmert, and Gideon Sa'ar – too supported legal reforms in the spirit of the one currently being proposed. Their opposition to the move at this time is nothing more than a political game. Over 100 lawmakers are members of parties that believe in such a reform, but oppose it for political reasons.
5. The true goal of the reform is to prevent the Netanyahu trial
The trial is already underway, it cannot be stopped and there is no connection between the reform and criminal proceedings. The claim that a change in the committee for the appointment of judges will strengthen Netanyahu is a double-edged sword. If someone believes that the judges in the Netanyahu trial are capable of bias, then they should also believe that the opposite can happen. That is, those who think that there may be an acquittal solely due to the reform, must also understand that there might be a conviction only to stop the reform.
6. And what if the Knesset cancels the elections to keep the current leadership in power?
A basic law prevents this already now. In the long run, the only gatekeepers who can prevent a dictatorship are the public, and they need to be strengthened. The mechanism that ensures the elections is not only dysfunctional but is also politically biased: the Central Elections Committee is controlled by current and former politicians, with the Supreme Court above them, with highly controversial decisions. There is no fairness in the system. A more balanced and independent Supreme Court will help strengthen the electoral process.
7. Israel has no constitution
Former President of the Supreme Court Aharon Barak has already said that the basic laws are like a constitution, and there are many other democratic countries that don't have a constitution and dictatorships that do.
If you look at the constitutions of real democracies, you will see that they are much closer to the proposed reform than to what Israel currently has. There are no constitutions where the attorney generals are the "gatekeepers" or where the Supreme Court holds a majority or veto in the appointment of its members.
8. The reform will harm Israel's international standing
The world knows what democracy is and is not, and the proposed reform will only strengthen Israel's democracy.
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