Finally available: Everything you always wanted to know about Judicial Reform but were afraid to ask
Professor Netta Barak-Corren — rumored to be closely advising President Herzog — wrote a very balanced, much-discussed analysis of Israel's crisis that is finally available in English.
For several weeks now, we have been seeking to bring to our readers a variety of views of the very complicated judicial reform / judicial revolution (depending on whom you ask). We’ve heard from architects of the plan, as well as those vociferously opposed to it.
Until now, I’ve been frustrated that perhaps the most important piece of work I’ve read on the subject, by Professor Netta Barak-Corren of the Hebrew University, was not available in English. Finally it is, and it is with delight that I share a link to her superb paper with our readers.
Yes, it’s long. It’s 42 pages in English, more than 30 in Hebrew. But this is complicated stuff. What is unique about Professor Barak-Corren’s approach is that she is clear about what is “broken” in the current system and needs to be fixed, and at the same time, no less clear about why she considers the currently proposed changes very problematic and dangerous.
If you really want to understand the essentials of what’s going on here (legally and legislatively), this is the paper to read. It just takes time and focus.
Professor Barak-Corren, who in addition to her prodigious talents happens to be a lovely person, received her LL.B. in Law and B.A. in Cognitive Science from the Hebrew University (Valedictorian and three-time recipient of the Albert Einstein and Rector awards). She then clerked for the Chief Justice of the Israeli Supreme Court, Hon. Dorit Beinish, and pursued doctoral studies at Harvard, graduating in 2016.
She is a Professor of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a member of the Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality. In the current academic year, she is the David R. Greenbaum and Laureine Knight Greenbaum Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Chicago Law School (Fall 2022), a Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law, and a Visiting Fellow at Edmund & Lily Safra Center for Ethics in Harvard. She is also a Nootbaar Religious Freedom Fellow at Pepperdine University School of Law.
The rumor on the street is that she is advising President Herzog on this proposed compromise. I don’t know that to be true, but I hear it from many people.
Here is her paper:
The Levin-Rothman Plan for Altering the Justice System:
A Comprehensive Analysis and Proposal for Consideration
Professor Netta Barak-Corren
Faculty of Law and the Center for the Study of Rationality
Hebrew University of Jerusalem*You can download her paper from her website, here.
Professor Barak-Corren also recently made a presentation at the University of Pennsylvania Law School covering some of the same material. It’s available on YouTube, and like her paper, is not short. The video runs just over an hour.
What Israel needs now, both from its own citizens and those who love it abroad, is thoughtful and knowledge-based discussion. If you’re interested in investing the time, there is no one better to guide you to that goal.
Impossible Takes Longer will be published this April. It’s available now for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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Where can I find Netta Barak-Corren's paper in Hebrew?
The sound on that video is terrible.