What is the problem of the Netanyahu government with the judiciary?
- Many right-wingers in Israel say the Supreme Court is left-leaning, elitist, meddling, and often putting minority rights ahead of national interests.
What does the coalition want?
- The government is pushing for changes that would limit the powers of the Israeli Supreme Court to rule against the legislative and executive branches, while giving parliamentarians crucial powers to appoint judges.
- The appointment of judges requires the approval of the politicians and judges who are members of the relevant committee. Various current proposals would change that, giving the government much more leverage.
- Netanyahu has been officially barred from participating in the judicial changes initiative because he faces criminal charges of corruption, which he denies.
What is the reason behind the protest of many Israelis?
Israel’s “checks and balances” are relatively fragile. It has no constitution, only “Basic Laws” intended to protect its democratic foundations and a unicameral parliament in which the government controls a majority.
Protesters fear that if passed, the proposals would weaken the courts and hand over absolute power to the government, endangering civil liberties with disastrous effects on the economy and relations with Western allies.
What are the other influencing factors?
- Critics fear that Netanyahu wants to use judicial pressure to freeze or cancel his trial, which he has denied. The left-wing opposition also says his nationalist allies want to weaken the Supreme Court to build more settlements on land Palestinians seek for a state. The ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition want a law to be passed exempting the sect from serving in the army, and they fear the court will overturn this if its powers are not curtailed.
What then?
- Some of the changes proposed by the ruling coalition are currently under discussion in a full session of the Knesset, where the first of three readings required before the changes are drafted into law are considered. The schedule has not yet been set. Other changes are still under discussion.
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, urged a compromise. In a rare political intervention, he outlined a five-point plan as a platform for discussions. Opposition leaders said they would not engage in dialogue before blocking the legislation. Justice Minister Yariv Levin said he was willing to debate, but not block the legislation.
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