Israel: Netanyahu Delays Judicial Overhaul

Facts

• Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday announced that the votes of the two remaining readings of his government's divisive judicial overhaul plan would be delayed until the next legislative session, citing the need to reach an agreement to prevent dividing the country.¹
• On Saturday night, Netanyahu decided to sack Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after he urged the government to halt its plans to change the country's judiciary, arguing that the internal rift over the legislation had become a threat to national security.²
• Israel has been rocked by mass protests since the government announced its proposed judicial reforms in January, with demonstrators clashing with police weekly. Unrest has recently sparked even within the Israeli army, allegedly weakening the country's military readiness and national cohesion.³
• Following Gallant — the first cabinet minister to disagree with the government and call for more dialogue over the next month — some moderate members of the ruling Likud party have also supported a freeze to the legislation. However, it was unclear whether they would vote against the bill in the Knesset.⁴
• Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets across the country to protest against the reforms while several Israeli reservists are refusing to serve and train in opposition to the plans. Protests continued into Monday, with the country's largest trade union calling a general strike.⁵
• A Monday Knesset session also turned into a dramatic scene, as opposition members of parliament verbally attacked Simcha Rothman, the committee chairman who has shepherded the bill, with cries of 'Shame! Shame!' and accusations that the bill will be catastrophic for Israel.⁶

Sources: ¹ABC News, ²The Times of Israel, ³Al Jazeera, ⁴New York Times, ⁵CNN and ⁶Yahoo News.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by New Statesman. This move by Netanyahu and his most extreme allies shows, despite a legitimate rightward shift in the electorate, the Prime Minister has less control over his coalition than once thought. Facing scrutiny over bribery and fraud charges, the only way Netanyahu can maintain his power is by ripping apart Israel's long-standing democratic institutions and criminalizing judicial dissent. We are watching an authoritarian coup unfold in real time.
• Right narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. Despite the left arguing that these judicial reform plans threaten democracy, the reality is quite the opposite. The self-appointed Israeli Supreme Court has autocratic, unchecked powers that allow it to nullify and rewrite democratically-enacted laws and policies based on subjective justifications. Consequently, the move is crucial to curb the court's undemocratic excesses and protect the rule of law.
• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. Though there's much talk from the Israeli left that the country's democracy is under threat, for Palestinians it has never been a democracy. Apartheid and democracy are mutually exclusive, and the only reason Israelis are protesting in the first place is their desire to maintain the system that has oppressed Palestinians for 75 years.

Predictions