Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Saturday night in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv against a battery of changes to the judicial system proposed by the new government of Benjamin Netanyahu that threatens to substantially reduce the powers of the Supreme Court. Critics see this reform as an attempt to weaken the country’s democratic institutions and undermine its balance of power.
The mobilization, which also took place in other cities such as Jerusalem and Haifa with a much smaller attendance, represents the latest sign of the strong political polarization in Israel and of the broadly articulated opposition to Netanyahu. The incombustible politician resumed the post of prime minister at the end of December at the head of the most right-wing Executive in the country’s history and with a comfortable parliamentary majority behind him.
The changes planned by the Government, and which were presented last Wednesday by the Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, contemplate granting Parliament and the Executive greater control over the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, under the pretext that He has too much influence. However, critics see the changes as an offensive to limit the independence and prerogatives of the court, and warn that they pave the way for corruption and a further rollback of minority rights.
Reacting to the protests, Netanyahu has published a message on social networks this Sunday in which he affirms that two months ago “the mother of all demonstrations” took place in Israel, referring to the “millions of people” who “took to the streets to vote in the legislative elections” held in early november. The prime minister added that “one of the main issues” for which the conservative bloc obtained electoral victory was the reform of the judicial system. “We have received a mandate, and we will fulfill it!”
לפני חודשיים התקיימה בישראל הפגנה ענקית, אם כל ההפגנות. מליוני אנשים יצאו לרחובות כדי להצביע בבחירות.
. קיבלנו מנדט – ונבצע! pic.twitter.com/XpaAB3iBK9
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) January 15, 2023
The increased tension unleashed by the new Israeli government in its first days in office and its plans to adopt sweeping changes to the judicial system are also increasing pressure on the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, who is domingo has expressed his concern over a controversy he believes is “ripping the nation apart.”
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Herzog has claimed to be focused on dealing with two “critical” issues: “avoiding a historic constitutional crisis and stopping the division of the nation.” He has also acknowledged that in the last week he has worked to create a broad and respectful dialogue, but has admitted that he is not sure “of the success of the initiative”.
Among the modifications proposed by the Government are granting Parliament the power to annul Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority, granting the Executive the power to appoint its judges, and withdrawing the power to block executive decisions that it considers unreasonable, according to the country’s media. It is also contemplated that the legal advisers of the cabinet will be political positions with less power.
The impetus for these changes by the Government occurs while the Israeli Supreme Court is studying a petition to annul the appointment of one of its ministers, the ultra-Orthodox Aryeh Deri, due to a recent conviction for tax fraud for which he received a sentence of suspended prison. The changes could also benefit Netanyahu himself, who is currently on trial for corruption.
“Death blow to judicial independence”
Critics of the government’s intentions include the president of the Supreme Court herself, Esther Hayut, who on Thursday stated, in a televised speech picked up by local media, that this reform “deals a fatal blow to the independence of the judiciary.” The Executive’s legal offensive also occurs in a context of increasing attacks against prosecutors and lawyers involved in corruption trials, particularly those of high public interest, according to statements by the state attorney general, Amit Eisman, collected by the newspaper Haaretz.
The demonstrations held on Saturday were called by civil society organizations and supported by the country’s main opposition formations. Local media put the participation at around 80,000 people, citing police estimates, while the organizers raised the figure to more than 100,000. Among them were some opposition political leaders, such as the former defense minister and president of the National Unity party, Benny Gatz, the presidents of the Palestinian-Israeli formations of the United Arab List, Mansour Abbas, and the Hadash-Taal coalition, Ayman Odeh, and the president of the labor party, Merav Michaeli.
One of the most applauded speeches during the demonstration in Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli media, was that of former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who accused the government of going to war against the very democratic institutions to govern without restrictions. Livni also considered that elections do not give the Executive the power to destroy democracy, and she affirmed that they are protecting the homeland against them.
Other conflicting issues on the new government’s agenda include the promotion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, the management of the Jerusalem Mosque Esplanade, increased subsidies for students from religious study centers, stricter regulations on the immigration rights of Jews converted through the reform movement, and its policy towards Palestinians and the LGTBI community.
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