Despite weeks of massive protests across Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised this past Sunday that he will move on his controversial plan regarding massive changes in Israel’s Supreme Court, causing more protests the following days.
After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed this past Sunday that he will move on his controversial plan on implementing massive changes in Israel’s judiciary system, tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv and protested against Netanyahu’s new words.
Holding in hand banners reading “Israel is burning” and “Netanyahu an enemy of democracy,” demonstrators showed their opposition to the 73-year-old Prime Minister and his ‘anti-democratic’ policies, marking the 25th weeks of constant protest in Israel. Israeli’s opposition against the judiciary overhaul plan in the form of street demonstration has in fact been the longest and the most massive protest ever in the history of Israel. Israelis have been protesting since January this year against the government’s proposals to weaken the Supreme Court, which if turned into law, would grant politicians more powers in the selection of judges.
Signs of compromise were seen back in March when under the mounting pressure of street protests, Netanyahu said his government decided to halt the legislation. “From a will to prevent the rift in the nation, I have decided to delay the second and third reading in order to reach a broad consensus,” Netanyahu said in a TV address, calling the move “a chance to avoid a civil war”. He also faced a rebellion from a rogue Likud MK, Tally Gotliv, whose refusal to remove herself from the running, thus potentially skewing results, further complicated matters.
While some Israeli politicians tentatively welcomed the delay, some of Netanyahu’s coalition partners called it a mistake and protest leaders said they would keep up demonstrations until the legislation was dropped entirely. One of Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition partners, security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he had agreed to the delay on a promise the bill would return after the parliamentary recess and a deal to form a National Guard under his ministry – a move opponents fiercely criticize as giving him his own militia.
This is while many Israeli officials, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog are among the critics of the judicial overhaul plan, creating a sort of division in Israeli’s political system. Welcoming Netanyahu’s announcement in March, Herzog said stopping the bill was “the right thing to do”.
What made Netanyahu to add fuel to the already huge fire of unrest in Israel?
Netanyahu’s new announcement that he is determined to move on with the judicial overhaul plan came after opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz pulled out their support for talks on the proposal.
During a joint press conference this past Wednesday, Lapid and Gantz asserted that they ended their participation in negotiations for consensual judicial reform, due to Netanyahu’s failed attempt to put off a crucial vote to elect lawmakers to the country’s Judicial Selection Committee.
The opposition leaders based their decision on the violation of commitments that Netanyahu had made to President Isaac Herzog to convene and oversee crucial appointments to the country’s judiciary.
“Netanyahu today put an end to the pretense that he wants dialogue,” Lapid declared, adding also that “Netanyahu knew exactly what the consequences would be. They were made clear to him by the president and by us. Without the Judicial Selection Committee, we will not go to the president’s residence. No committee — no dialogue”.
