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The Netanyahu government’s planned judicial reform is dividing Israeli society. What are the plans in detail and why is there so much resistance?
Israel’s current government believes the country’s judiciary is too powerful. Again and again she sees the democratically elected majority slowed down by the courts. That is why Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced a major reform package immediately after taking office. The goal: to weaken the Supreme Court.
The plan envisages that Parliament can overrule court decisions, even if fundamental rights are affected. In addition, the government should in future have a majority in the commission that selects the judges. Both have been put on hold for the time being in the face of months of mass protests.
A million Israelis have been to protests several times
Around a million Israelis have taken part in protests at least five times. With a population of less than 10 million and the non-participation of Palestinian Israelis in the protest, that’s a staggering number. But there are also supporters of the reform. The rifts in Israeli society have deepened in recent months.
At least an important part of the reform should be decided before the parliamentary summer recess, which begins at the end of the month. The Supreme Court is to be deprived of the opportunity to reject decisions by the cabinet or ministers as “inappropriate”.
Critics fear for the rule of law
It was only in January that the court ruled against the appointment of a tax evader who had been convicted several times as a minister. During the trial, he had actually agreed to withdraw from political life and avoid imprisonment. In cases like these, too, the Netanyahu government would like to have a free hand in the future.
Critics of the reform fear more corruption, they fear for the protection of minorities and ultimately for the rule of law in Israel. Because the Supreme Court is considered the only authority in the country that can show the limits of the power of the majority.