Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has defended the passage of a core element of his judicial reform. Now it can be governed in the interests of the majority of citizens, he said in a speech. Thousands demonstrated again across the country.
After the Israeli parliament voted yes to a crucial part of the controversial judicial reform, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the population in a speech – and defended the vote. He spoke of a “necessary democratic step”. This enables the elected leadership to govern in the interests of the majority of citizens, said the head of government.
The fulfillment of the voters’ will is “the essence of democracy” – and not its end. According to surveys, however, only a quarter of all Israelis were in favor of implementing the judicial reform.
Netanyahu promised that Israel’s Supreme Court would remain independent. He wants to continue the dialogue with the opposition in order to find a compromise. While praising the Knesset’s decision, he pledged to “continue to strive for negotiations and reaching agreements.”
His coalition will contact the opposition in the coming days in order to conduct a dialogue. “We are ready to discuss everything immediately.” He hopes for an agreement by the end of November.
Netanyahu was only released from the hospital shortly before the vote. The 73-year-old was briefly fitted with a pacemaker on Sunday night.
North of Tel Aviv: Car crashes into crowd
After the vote, mass protests broke out again in front of the parliament building in Jerusalem and in the center of Tel Aviv. Thousands of people blocked the main thoroughfare through Jerusalem and gathered in front of Parliament.
Hundreds of stickers reading “We serve no dictator,” “Democracy or rebellion,” and “Save Israel from Netanyahu” hung on walls and fences along the street in front of the Supreme Court, the Prime Minister’s Office, and Parliament. The police tried to disperse the crowd with water cannons.
A car crashed into demonstrators during a protest march in a town north of Tel Aviv. Three people were injured, police said. The officials arrested the driver, whose motive was initially unclear in the evening, after a search. The demonstrators had blocked a lane.
A video posted online showed the car driving through the crowd on the street with full force and without consideration. In the past, angry drivers had hit demonstrators who were blocking roads in protest against the controversial judicial reform.
Israel has no written constitution
Israel’s parliament had previously passed a core element of the Netanyahu government’s controversial judicial reform. In a heated session, opposition MPs chanted “shame” and left the hall in disgust. The remaining members of the 120-seat chamber approved the proposal by a vote of 64 to zero. This means that the country’s highest court will no longer be able to examine the “appropriateness” of decisions made by representatives of the people.
The law is part of a larger package and one of the most controversial parts of judicial reform. The State of Israel does not have a written constitution and is instead based on a set of fundamental laws. Therefore, the Supreme Court is of particular importance in upholding the rule of law and human rights.
Opposition announces petition
After the vote, Justice Minister Jariv Levin, the plan’s architect, said Parliament had taken the first step in an important historic process of reforming the judiciary. Opposition leader Jair Lapid, on the other hand, spoke of a sad day. “This is not a victory for the coalition. This is the destruction of Israeli democracy,” he said. He announced that he would submit a petition to the Supreme Court on Tuesday against the “unilateral suspension of the democratic character of the State of Israel”.
The non-governmental organization MQG condemned the vote and announced a lawsuit against the new law before the Supreme Court. Netanyahu’s extremist government is showing its determination to impose its fringe ideology on millions of citizens, MQG said. “No one can predict the extent of the damage and social upheaval that will follow the passage of the law.”
There have been mass protests in the country against the reform plans for months. Critics of the government see the reform project as an attempt to undermine the democratic separation of powers and allow the government to make arbitrary decisions. The government argues that elected representatives of the people must be strengthened against an intrusive judiciary.
USA: Decision without opposition “regrettable”
The US criticized the Israeli parliament’s decision. US President Joe Biden has repeatedly made it clear that major changes in a democracy require the broadest possible consensus in order to be permanent, his spokeswoman said. It was “regrettable” that the vote came about “with the smallest possible majority”.
The US government assumes that talks will continue now and in the coming weeks and months on how to find a more comprehensive compromise, even if the Knesset is on recess. The US supported the efforts of President Izchak Herzog and other leaders to seek broader consensus through political dialogue.
The federal government called for dialogue between the government and the opposition. “We very much regret that the negotiations between the government and the opposition, mediated by President Izchak Herzog, have failed for the time being,” said the Foreign Office in Berlin. “Especially after today’s adoption of the first part of the planned restructuring of the judiciary, it remains important that a broad social debate is given sufficient time and space to enable a new consensus,” it said.