Israel’s far-right and ultra-religious government has finally succeeded in passing an element of its wide-ranging changes to the judiciary.
Legal action, a general strike and possible refusal from upwards of 10,000 military reservists to report for duty are now on the cards as Israel’s largest-ever domestic crisis enters a new chapter.
What just happened?
After seven months of debate, the government on Monday managed to scrap the “reasonableness” clause that allows Israel’s unelected supreme court to overrule government decisions, after a final vote of 64-0. Every member of the coalition voted in favour, while opposition lawmakers abandoned the Knesset plenum in protest.
Earlier in the year, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appeared more willing to cut a deal with the opposition and temper the judicial proposals but 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.
In recent weeks, however, the prime minister has taken a more strident tone, promising the judicial overhaul would go ahead and that it would “safeguard, rather than endanger” democracy. A former special forces captain, he seems particularly irked by what he views as insubordination in the military.
Israel is now facing an unprecedented constitutional crisis in which the supreme court could strike down the legislation designed to curb its powers, and the government could choose not to comply. Other expected developments include stepped-up street protests and strike action, and a refusal to report for duty by upwards of 10,000 military reservists.
What else is the government proposing?
Among a range of far-reaching proposals from Netanyahu’s government are plans to allow a simple majority of 61 in the 120-seat Knesset to override almost any supreme court rulings, and to allow politicians to appoint most of the justices to the bench.
The changes are spearheaded not by the prime minister but by his Likud party colleague Yariv Levin, the justice minister, and the Religious Zionist party lawmaker Simcha Rothman, who chairs the Knesset’s law and justice committee. The measures could technically help Netanyahu evade prosecution in his corruption trial. He denies all charges.
Levin and Rothman have a longstanding hatred of Israel’s supreme court, which they see as too powerful and as biased against the settler movement, Israel’s ultra-religious community, and the Mizrahi population, Jewish people of Middle Eastern origin. In particular, many on the Israeli right have never forgiven the court for decisions related to Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
Why is this happening now?
Netanyahu’s trial triggered four years of political crisis in which Israel was split over whether he was fit to lead the country. After five elections since 2019, in which politicians on both sides failed to form stable governments, a bloc of extremist and religious parties headed by Netanyahu’s Likud won a clear majority in elections last November, going on to form the most rightwing administration in Israel’s history.
Full annexation of the occupied West Bank, a rollback of pro-LGBTQ+ legislation, axing laws protecting women’s rights and minority rights, and a loosening of the rules of engagement for Israeli police and soldiers, are all on the coalition’s agenda.
What do critics of the measures say?
Worries that the proposals will result in an erosion of democratic norms and the rule of law have sparked the biggest protest movement in Israeli history, with weekly demonstrations in Tel Aviv and many more outside the Knesset in Jerusalem. There have been several “days of disruption” since January, in which protesters have blocked highways and Tel Aviv airport.
As the months have worn on, the protests have become more violent, and hundreds of arrests have been made. The movement is largely leaderless, but significant pressure has come from members of the military, who fear the judicial overhaul will make Israelis more vulnerable to prosecution in international courts for war crimes.
The tech sector has also been vocal, citing fears about foreign investment and the startup sector.
The US president, Joe Biden, who has repeatedly described himself as a “true friend of Israel”, has been publicly critical of the plans, urging his Israeli counterpart to seek a broad consensus for such wide-ranging changes.
What happens next?
Months of compromise talks brokered by the president, Isaac Herzog, collapsed in June, and last-ditch efforts before Monday’s vote ended in deadlock.
Now the “reasonableness” clause has been scrapped, it is expected that the coalition will immediately move to reinstate the disgraced Aryeh Deri as interior minister, who was barred from holding a cabinet position by the supreme court, as well as introducing legislation permanently exempting ultra-Orthodox men from military service, and bills expanding Israeli settlement and control of the occupied West Bank.
The current Knesset session expires at the end of July, and parliament will reconvene in October, after the Jewish high holidays.
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