Proposals by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government to radically diminish the power and independence of Israel’s judiciary sparked demonstrations across the country starting in January 2023. An estimated 200,000 Israelis took part in protests on Feb. 11 and another 100,000 in front of the Parliament on Feb. 13, the same day a general strike took place to denounce the changes. A statement signed by 18 former Supreme Court justices asserted that Israeli democracy is at stake in the judicial reform being considered by lawmakers, which “severely threatens the essence of our system of government and our way of life in Israel.”
The Conversation asked political scientist and Israel expert Dov Waxman, the director of the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, for his insights into the current crisis.
