Over the past year, Israel has witnessed an extraordinary wave of non-violent protests, involving hundreds of thousands of activists from across society. The extensive demonstrations were triggered by a judicial overhaul announced by the Israeli government in early 2023.
The government passed into law in July 2023 the first planned change of the overhaul – a so-called “reasonableness” bill. This removed the power of the country’s supreme court (and lower courts) to cancel government decisions deemed “extremely unreasonable”.
The proposed judicial overhaul, which was designed to weaken the judicial branch, plunged Israel into one of the most serious internal crises in its history. An unprecedented pro-democracy civil movement mounted an extensive anti-government campaign aimed at stopping the judicial overhaul.
