Even after months, the protest in Israel does not stop. On Monday evening, the controversial judicial reform was approved in the first reading – the second and third should follow quickly. Opposition leader Lapid sees the rule of law in danger.
There was a foretaste of the expected protests in the evening during the debate: security forces took action against demonstrators who wanted to disrupt the parliamentary debate.
But in the middle of the night, the reform of the so-called adequacy clause cleared the first reading. The possibilities of the Supreme Court to reject government decisions are to be significantly restricted. The governing coalition of right-wing, national and ultra-religious parties considers the influence of the judiciary in Israel to be too great.
Opposition: Government wants to “act without control”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid is not the only one who sees this as a weakening of the separation of powers and a threat to the rule of law. “This government has lost all inhibitions,” he says. “She wants to make sure that she can act completely uninhibited and without control.” In his view, the abolition of the adequacy clause means that laws apply to all citizens, but not to them. “If they break the law, it will not be possible to sue them. The court will not be able to do anything.”
The Supreme Court last January rejected the appointment of Arje Deri as Interior and Health Minister. He had been convicted again of tax evasion and only escaped prison because he promised his judges that he would retire from political life. The Supreme Court considered it inappropriate that he had nevertheless been appointed Minister.
Smotrich: Opposition wants “to bring down government”
Government politicians such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, on the other hand, believe that the elected majority is decisive even in cases like these. “The vast majority agree that the law is absolutely necessary,” he says. This would allow the elected government to legally enforce its policy and “prevent a case in which the Supreme Court prevents the deportation of a terrorist’s family from happening again.”
“We all know that the opposition is not really interested in reaching an agreement,” Smotrich continued. “They want to buy time, they want to weaken the reform and ultimately bring down the existing government.”
Israeli demonstrators with Israeli flags block the Tel Aviv-Haifa highway near Beit Yanai, Israel, in protest against the government’s plans to change the justice system.
Pressure on government does not ease
The second and third readings are expected to take place next week. The government wants to get this part of the judicial reform through parliament before the summer recess. But until then, the pressure will remain high: the US has asked Israel to protect the separation of powers. Israel’s President launched a citizens’ dialogue on judicial reform on Monday.
In response, thousands of Israelis took to the streets in the morning to protest the project. There were major events in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, among others. Motorways have been blocked, and Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv is to be shut down.
Will the reform be weakened after all?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile announced that there could still be changes to the text of the law. “A correction of the adequacy clause does not represent the end of democracy, but the strengthening of democracy,” he says. “Even after the correction, the independence of the courts and the rights of the citizens of Israel will not be violated in any way. The court will continue to oversee the appointments and compliance of the government with the law.”
However, parts of the governing coalition are resisting any further softening of the reform plans and have threatened to end the government. The exit is currently open.