Israeli police fired water cannons on protesters on Monday after the country’s parliament approved a deeply controversial law to limit the powers of the Supreme Court.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to protest a series of drastic changes to the country’s judicial system under the right-wing government, which they fear will weaken checks on the executive branch.
Demonstrators are calling for general strikes and opposition leaders have said they will challenge the reforms.
Over the weekend, tens of thousands of protestors marched 70 kilometres from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as part of months-long protests against the changes which they say are pushing the country towards authoritarian rule.
The proposed overhauls encompass radical changes designed to limit the judiciary’s powers, ranging from restricting the Supreme Court’s authority to challenge parliamentary decisions to altering the process of judges’ selection.
The first measure of the new plans was passed unanimously by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition on Monday night, after the opposition stormed out of the hall.
“It’s a sad day,” opposition leader Yair Lapid said after the vote. “This is not a victory for the coalition. This is the destruction of Israeli democracy.”
What are the judicial reforms?
The first of the new laws, passed on Monday, is the so-called “reasonableness” bill. This law aims to eliminate the doctrine that grants Israel’s Supreme Court oversight over the government’s cabinet and ministerial selections, and will also strip the court of its authority to block government decisions it deems unreasonable.
The government also wants to reduce the Supreme Court’s power to reject laws, making it possible for a simple majority of one in the Knesset to overturn such court decisions.
It also wants to exert more influence over judicial appointments, including those in the Supreme Court, by increasing its representation on the appointment committee.
The requirement for ministers to obey the advice of their legal advisers would also be scrapped.
If all these new laws take effect, the courts and Israeli society will have limited options to challenge government policies they perceive as illegal or undemocratic.
A political watchdog group and centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid are planning to petition the Supreme Court to annul the newly passed law.
Why are people so angry about the reforms?
Opponents fear that nationalist and ultra-Orthodox religious parties in alliance with Netanyahu will be able to shape policy with unlimited power. They view the legal concept of reasonableness as a key measure in protecting against government overreach and a fundamental pillar of Israeli democracy.
There are fears that the government might use the reduced judicial oversight to help create a more religious and less tolerant society by awarding jobs and funds to allies and firing officials who oppose them, pushing the country towards religious autocracy.
They also view the overhaul as a power grab fuelled by Netanyahu’s personal grievances — he is still on trial for charges of corruption and fraud.
“It’s hard to distinguish between his desire to avoid jail and his desire to remain in power,” David Myers, a professor of Jewish history at UCLA, told Vox in an interview.
“This is about whether the resources of the state will actually be used for the public interest,” said Amichai Cohen, a legal expert at the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem-based research group, told the New York Times. “Will the ministers interpret this elimination of reasonableness as carte blanche to just use the resources at their disposal, as they see fit, for political reasons?”
Who has spoken out against the reforms?
Many sectors of Israeli society have spoken out against the legislation.
Protesters have called for all the planned reforms to be scrapped and for Netanyahu, to resign. Tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets since March, regularly shutting down roads and infrastructure, leading to fears of armed conflict between those in favour and those against the reforms.
The demonstrators are supported by Netanyahu’s political opponents, as well as former top officials in Israel’s military, intelligence and security services, eminent legal figures and business leaders amongst others.
Israel’s largest trade union has threatened a strike, and doctors in the country also went on strike in protest last week.
Hundreds of military reservists, including elite Israeli Defence Force (IDF) pilots, who are key to Israel’s defence, have also threatened to refuse to report for service. This has led to warnings that the country’s security could be left seriously weakened.
The White House, a long-term and crucial ally of Isreal, called it "unfortunate" that the law had been passed. President Joe Biden himself has also called for the divisive” reforms to be postponed.
“It’s brought out on to the streets people who never thought they would protest against the Jewish state”, Myers told Vox.
What has the government said?
Proponents of the changes claim the objective of the legal changes is to put power in the hands of elected officials rather than unelected judges. Netanyahu and his allies say the reforms strengthen democracy by reducing the power of unelected judges and granting elected politicians more influence over decision-making.
“Today we did a necessary democratic act, an act that is intended to return a measure of balance between the branches of government,” he said in a televised address.
He also urged reservists “who love Israel” not to refuse military service in protest at the legal overhaul.
“The IDF must remain outside any political controversy. We all know that the IDF relies on dedicated reservists who love this country.”
“Calls for refusal to serve harm the security of every citizen of the state. No government can capitulate to a refusal diktat and we will not give in to such diktat.”
