Israel's Judicial Overhaul
The 'Only Functioning Democracy in the Middle East' Under Threat
Click to watch the trailer for "Judges Under Pressure" by Kacper Lisowski
JERUSALEM – "Shame, Shame, Shame" were the words chanted inside the Israeli parliament by the opposition as the Netanyahu administration passed a key part of its judicial overhaul, preventing the supreme court from overturning government decisions.
The judicial overhaul, which has been in the works since the beginning of this year has sparked the biggest protest movement in Israel's history, with hundreds of thousands of people rallying in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, shops and businesses closed down in solidarity, and recently – a possible refusal from more than 10,000 military reservists, some in key roles such as special forces, pilots, and intelligence officers to report for duty. The police used water cannon – and for the first time, skunk gas – in an attempt to disperse protests.
The new law allows a simple majority of 61 in the 120-seat Knesset to override almost any supreme court rulings and authorize politicians to appoint most of the justices to the bench.
Although the overhaul could technically help Netanyahu evade prosecution in his corruption trial, it is mainly spearheaded by Yariv Levin, the justice minister, and the Religious Zionist party lawmaker Simcha Rothman, who chairs the Knesset’s law and justice committee. Israel's right wing has long alleged the supreme court to be biased and too powerful for an unelected body. While Netanyahu expressed willingness to compromise with the opposition earlier this year, "he was believed to be hostage to the demands of his far-right coalition partners, who could bring down the government if their demands are not met," The Guardian reported.
The national security minister, the far-right extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir, said “The law we passed today is important for democracy, but it is only the beginning,” while international experts claim the changes to be an unprecedented attack on Israel's democracy, as the supreme court is what keeps the checks and balances of the executive branch in a functioning democracy.
Prime Minister Netanyahu now leads the most ultranationalist and religiously conservative coalition in Israel's history whose agenda includes full annexation of the occupied West Bank, a rollback of pro-LGBTQ+ legislation, terminating laws protecting women’s and minority rights, and a loosening of the rules of engagement for Israeli police and soldiers.
Set against the backdrop of new charges against Donald Trump this week, Benjamin Netanyahu is turning increasingly "Trump-like" – in essence, "two desperate men exploiting power to save themselves," as illustrated in this article from The Guardian. Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan testified at Netanyahu's corruption trial last month, describing how he routinely delivered tens of thousands of dollars of Champagne, cigars, and other gifts requested by the Israeli leader, amounting to a value of nearly $200,000.
However, most importantly, the passing of the new legislation now puts Israel at the crossroads of an unprecedented constitutional crisis in which the opposition says they will appeal against the legislation at the supreme court, which could strike down the recent legislation to curb its powers – and the government, having passed the legislation, could simply choose to not comply.
Click to watch the trailer for "The Gatekeepers" by Dror Moreh