Israel Delays Controversial Judiciary Overhaul After Mass Protests
Israel has been rocked by mass protests against the government's proposed overhaul of the judiciary, which critics say would threaten the country's democracy and undermine judicial independence. The proposed changes, which would limit the Israeli Supreme Court's ability to review and strike down laws deemed unconstitutional, have been met with widespread opposition, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets in protest. The unrest deepened a months-long crisis over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to modify the judiciary's powers, which has alarmed business leaders and former security chiefs and drawn concern from the United States and other close allies.[0]
The opposition has centered around Netanyahu's push to give the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) more power over the judiciary, which would grant the ruling party the power to influence how judges are appointed and even overturn court decisions.[1] Critics believe Netanyahu may be aiming to use such powers to weasel out of his own corruption charges.[2] One poll suggests nearly 1.5 million people may have participated in the ongoing protests against Netanyahu's attempts to seize and cripple the judiciary.[1]
Over the last couple of months, the global community has observed Israel grappling with increasing domestic unrest.[3] On the face of it, the mass protest movement that has formed in response to Netanyahu's government is aimed at preventing an overhaul of the court system that seeks to reform the traditionally powerful Israeli judiciary.[3] But there is a much deeper trend at play: the electoral rise of the country's ultra-Orthodox population.[3]
The political crisis deepened on Sunday when Netanyahu's office announced the firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a one-line statement, after he became the first member of the cabinet to call for a pause to the controversial plans.[4] Netanyahu announced on Monday that he would delay the proposed overhaul, suggesting that a compromise was needed to prevent “a civil war.”[5] Despite some protestors, who have vowed to continue the pressure until the legislation is retracted.[6]
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is relenting, for now, on his planned judicial overhaul.[4] After months of mass protest culminating in a general strike on Monday, the far-right plans to seize the nation's judicial system will be tabled until the next legislative session.[1] In an unlikely collaboration between big business and labor, Israel's people have shown the power of protest and the potential for what more they could accomplish if they so chose to.[1]
The proposed changes have drawn global attention and rocked the country, with tens of thousands of Israelis protesting and Histadrut, Israel's largest labor union, calling for its members to strike.[7] The protests have included countrywide rallies, protests outside ministers' homes, and demonstrations in front of the Knesset and Netanyahu's private home in Jerusalem.[8] Demonstrators have also announced a “national paralysis week,” while organizers of the judicial reform protests announced a “Week of Paralysis” for next week.[9]
The crisis has highlighted the sharp political confrontation in the history of the State of Israel, touching on the foundations of the system of governance over the “official” population, where a type of (discriminatory) bourgeois democracy exists, in parallel to the variants of police and military control over the Palestinian population in the territories of '67.[10] Despite the delay in the proposed overhaul, the situation in Israel remains tense, and the protests are likely to continue until there is a resolution that satisfies both the government and the people.
0. “Photos: Mass protests erupt in Israel as it faces ‘an abyss’” Al Jazeera English, 27 Mar. 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/3/27/photos-mass-protests-erupt-in-israel
1. “The Israeli Protests Show the Political Power of Unions” The New Republic, 27 Mar. 2023, https://newrepublic.com/post/171392/israeli-unions-forced-netanyahu-backtrack-judicial-overhaul-plan
2. “Israelis block streets in anti-government ‘Day of Shutdown’” Al Jazeera English, 23 Mar. 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/23/israel-ratifies-law-stipulating-conditions-for-a-netanyahu-ouster
3. “Is this the last gasp of Israel's secular Left?” UnHerd, 27 Mar. 2023, https://unherd.com/thepost/israeli-protests-the-last-gasp-of-the-secular-left/
4. “Israel judicial overhaul plans delayed amid huge protests, says Ben Gvir's Jewish Power party” CNN, 27 Mar. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/27/middleeast/israel-judicial-overhaul-protests-intl/
5. “Jewish community in Metro Detroit speaks out on mass protests in Israel” WDIV ClickOnDetroit, 27 Mar. 2023, https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2023/03/27/jewish-community-in-metro-detroit-speaks-out-on-mass-protests-in-israel/
6. “Israel protests and Netanyahu's judicial reform plans, explained” The Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/27/israel-protests-judicial-reform/
7. “Netanyahu Says Protesters Just Don't Get it, Blames Israeli ‘Propaganda'” Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2023, https://www.newsweek.com/netanyahu-says-protesters-just-dont-get-it-blames-israeli-propaganda-1790632
8. “Israel: Defence minister calls for pause to reforms as thousands protest” Middle East Eye, 25 Mar. 2023, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/defence-minister-calls-pause-reforms-israelis-protest
9. “Judicial reform protest leaders announce ‘Week of Paralysis'” The Jerusalem Post, 24 Mar. 2023, https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-735326
10. “Israel-Palestine || General Strike Against Netanyahu and Far Right Amid Historic Political Crisis” International Socialist, 27 Mar. 2023, https://internationalsocialist.net/en/2023/03/israel-palestine
