Israeli doctors are on a 24-hour strike and black ads are covering newspaper front pages Tuesday as protests increase over the government's ratification of judicial changes, says Reuters.
The parliament on Monday approved the first major law in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the country’s justice system, triggering a new burst of mass protests and drawing accusations that he's pushing the country toward authoritarian rule.
The measure won final passage by a vote of 64 to 0, after all the opposition members in the 120-seat Knesset (parliament) walked out.
In the vote, lawmakers approved a measure that prevents judges from striking down government decisions on the basis they are “unreasonable.”
The government’s critics say removing the standard of reasonability opens the way to corruption and improper appointments of unqualified cronies to important positions. The Supreme Court, for example, this year rejected Netanyahu’s appointment of a key ally for interior and finance minister as unreasonable because of past convictions for bribery and tax cheating.
Given Israel’s relatively weak system of checks and balances, the judiciary plays a big role in checking executive power in the country, says The Associated Press.
In the United States, Congress operates independently of the president and can limit his power. In Israel, the prime minister and his majority coalition in the parliament work in tandem.
That leaves the judiciary as “the only check on governmental power,” says constitutional law professor Amichai Cohen.
Israel also has minimal local governance and no formal constitution. This means most of the power is centralized in parliament, Cohen says. The “basic laws” — foundational laws that experts describe as a sort of informal constitution — can be changed at any time by a majority.
Historically, the Israeli judiciary has played a role in protecting the rights of minorities, from Palestinian citizens of Israel to noncitizens and African asylum seekers, Cohen says.
The fight over the law, which has prompted the most widespread protests in the country’s history, reflects a deeper split between those who want a more explicitly Jewish and religious Israel, and those who want to preserve a more secular, pluralist society, says The New York Times.
The protests prompted Netanyahu to pause the overhaul in March and enter talks with opposition lawmakers. But the talks broke down last month.
The protests prompted Netanyahu to pause the overhaul in March and enter talks with opposition lawmakers. But the talks broke down last month.
By weakening the judiciary, critics say, Israel’s government — the most right-wing, nationalist and religiously conservative in the country’s history, led by a male-dominated coalition whose members have advocated full annexation of the occupied West Bank, discriminating against LGBTQ+ people and Palestinian citizens of Israel, and limiting the rights of women — will have near-total control.
Protesters have called for all the planned reforms to be scrapped and for Netanyahu to resign. They're supported by Netanyahu's political rivals, as well as former top officials in Israel's military, intelligence and security services, former chief justices, prominent legal figures, business leaders and others, says BBC News.
In a five-minute, prime-time address Monday night, Netanyahu offered to return to negotiations with the opposition over any further judicial changes until late November.
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