Netanyahu Restarts Judicial Overhaul Bill, Reigniting Protests

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • Protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious plan to overhaul the judicial system picked up over the weekend in the 27th consecutive week of demonstrations, with organizers saying that around 365K people have come out in cities around the country — including 180K in Tel Aviv.1
  • The increased number of protesters comes as the Israeli government is set to push judicial reforms forward this week and amid the recent firing of Tel Aviv’s police chief, who claimed he was accused of being too lenient on the protesters.2
  • The Knesset session, which was scheduled for Monday, includes a non-binding vote on a bill that would limit the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down decisions by elected officials. As of Monday night local time, members of the Knesset continued to debate the bill, with protesters being forcibly removed from the Knesset as demonstrations take place outside the building.3
  • The bill would prevent the court from overruling the government on grounds of “reasonableness" — a malleable legal standard that allows the court to intervene in government decision-making. If the bill passes a preliminary reading on Monday, it would still need to clear two subsequent readings.4
  • The government has argued that the bill is necessary to prevent the courts from interfering in policy decisions and to ensure an improved balance of power, while its opponents say that the bill would give politicians more power over the courts and weaken Israeli democracy.5
  • The judicial bill has been highly controversial in Israeli society, with protests against the bill being the largest in the country's history. In March, demonstrators succeeded in forcing Netanyahu to announce a freeze to the changes after a day of paralyzing strikes and demonstrations across the country.6

Sources: 1CNN, 2Associated Press, 3The Times of Israel, 4New York Times, 5Al Jazeera, and 6Guardian.

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 in real time.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. Despite the left arguing that these judicial reform plans threaten democracy, it is actually quite the contrary. 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. This 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 have protested against the overhaul in the first place is that they want to maintain a system that has oppressed Palestinians for 75 years.