The Prime Minister had to put his reform project on “pause”, faced with the mistrust of the population, the justice system and part of the political class.
Binyamin Netanyahu delays. The Israeli Prime Minister announced a “break” in the process of adopting its project to reform the judicial system, Monday, March 27. This reform, defended by the most right-wing government in the history of Israel, has triggered one of the largest popular mobilizations in the history of the country, since its presentation in early January. Recently, criticisms had emerged within the government itself and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, had called for its suspension.
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Franceinfo summarizes these weeks of mobilization against the reform and the political crisis it has generated.
1 The new government presents its judicial reform
On November 1, 2022, Benyamin Netanyahu returns to power as Prime Minister. After lengthy negotiations with ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties, he forms the most right-wing government in Israel’s history. One of the coalition’s projects is to change the country’s judicial system. On January 4, 2023, the government presents its reform. While the Prime Minister is targeted by several corruption cases, the text aims in particular to increase the power of elected officials over that of magistrates.
Among the main elements of the reform, a so-called “derogatory” would allow Parliament, with a simple majority vote, to overrule a Supreme Court decision. For opponents of the project, this measure would give almost absolute power to Parliament and could be used to quash a possible conviction of Binyamin Netanyahu. Another key point: the process of appointing judges, currently chosen by a panel of magistrates, deputies and lawyers, under the supervision of the Minister of Justice. The government wants “put an end to the election of judges by their colleagues” and proposes greater weight for elected officials in these choices. The reform thus proposes to remove the lawyers from the nominative panel, where two citizens would sit in their place, in addition to a minister.
Finally, the government wants to reduce the influence of legal advisers within ministries. Their recommendations are cited by Supreme Court justices when ruling on the proper conduct of government. The reform would transform these recommendations into non-binding opinions. For critics of this provision, it is another way for the Netanyahu government to weaken the power of officials. In parallel with the reform, the ruling coalition wants to reinstate the death penalty for acts of terrorism, and restrict the possibilities of impeachment of a Prime Minister.
2 Demonstrations are on the rise
Quickly, the reform project aroused serious concerns and reactions from Israeli society, in the judiciary and then in the streets. On January 12, several hundred lawyers marched against the text in Tel Aviv. The same day, the President of the Supreme Court, Esther Hayut, castigates the project, calling it a“unbridled attack” against justice.
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On January 14, thousands of Israelis demonstrate in Tel Aviv to proclaim their opposition to the reform, which makes them fear an anti-democratic drift. They also demand the resignation of the head of government, implicated in corruption cases. The mobilization is led, among others, by an anti-corruption organization and parties of the center and the left. The week of February 11, tens of thousands of people pound the pavement in several cities across the country.
The magnitude of the movement is similar to the beginning of March, for the tenth consecutive week of mobilization. On March 1, clashes broke out for the first time between protesters and police in Tel Aviv. In opposition to the reform other malcontents are gathering, in particular the opposition to Israeli colonization in the West Bank. Thousands of Israelis were still on the streets on Saturday March 25.
3 The international community expresses its “concern”
The Israeli Parliament approves at first reading, on February 21, two key and particularly controversial provisions of the reform, on the appointment of judges and the establishment of an “erogation clause” allowing the annulment of decisions of the Supreme Court. The same day, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, calls on the Israeli government to suspend the reform, worried about its consequences in terms of human rights and the independence of the judiciary. “Given the level of public and political concern, I call on the Israeli government to put the proposed legislative changes on hold and open them up to broader debate and reflection,” he says.
On March 9, during a televised address, Israeli President Isaac Herzog in turn called for the legislative process to be interrupted, calling it a “threat to the foundations of democracy”. A week later, during a trip by Binyamin Netanyahu to Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated, during a joint press conference, that he followed “with great concern” the debates around the reform. “I’m supposed to be a potentate who abolishes democracy. It won’t take long to realize that this is absurd, this is grotesque”, responds the Israeli leader.
On March 19, US President Joe Biden calls Binyamin Netanyahu to invite him to find “a compromise”. “Democratic societies are strengthened by effective checks and balances” and any substantive change must benefit from the “widest possible popular support”, says Joe Biden, according to comments reported by the White House.
4 Benyamin Netanyahu dismisses his defense minister
During a public speech on Thursday, March 23, Benyamin Netanyahu, who until then had remained in the background on this file, announced that he was entering “on stage” and undertakes to “put an end to the division among the people”. He affirms his determination to advance the reform, arguing that he will do everything to “reach a solution” acceptable both to the defenders of the project and to its detractors.
The next day, he was called to order by the courts, who judged his intervention “illegal”. “Your statement yesterday and any intervention by you in [le] process [d’adoption de la réforme] is illegal”, writes government legal adviser Gali Baharav-Miara, in a letter to the Prime Minister and published by the Ministry of Justice. “You should avoid any involvement in changes in the judicial system and in particular in the process of appointing judges, as this places you in a situation of conflict of interest”, she adds.
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant was sacked by the prime minister after calling for a month-long pause in the judicial reform legislative process. Dhousands of people take to the streets in Tel Aviv. The next day, it was President Isaac Herzog’s turn to call, “stop immediately” legislative work on the judicial reform project.
For his part, during a press briefing held on Monday morning, the head of the Israeli trade union center Histadrut demanded, under pain of a general strike, a withdrawal of the reform. “I call for a general strike (…) as soon as this press conference ends, the State of Israel stops”, says Arnon Bar David. The main employers’ organizations have distanced themselves from the call for a strike, while calling for dialogue and “immediate halt to the legislative process”. But, rare fact, private companies – banks, insurance companies, clothing and restaurant chains – have decided to close anyway.
5 Netanyahu puts his project on ‘pause’
Several tens of thousands of demonstrators, according to Israeli media, were gathered Monday afternoon around the Parliament, in Jerusalem, to protest against the reform. A counter-demonstration, the first of its kind, was also held not far from there, in front of the Supreme Court, bringing together several thousand people, according to an AFP journalist.
Monday evening, Benyamin Netanyahu finally announced a “break” in the process of adopting the reform, which is currently being examined by Parliament. However, this will be a short break. In an address to the nation, after political consultations with certain partners in the ruling coalition, the Prime Minister announced that the final adoption of the various texts of the reform was postponed until the next parliamentary session. This should open after the Passover holidays (April 5 to 13).
In the wake of this announcement, the Israeli trade union center Histadrut reacted by lifting the general strike.