Uproar in Israel: Why planned judicial overhaul has been delayed amid escalating protests

This came as workers from a range of sectors in Israel launched a nationwide strike on March 27 threatening to paralyse the economy as they joined a surging protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary, reported Associated Press. While sections of Israel’s population have been protesting against the proposed laws for months, on Monday, there were reports that far-right crowds were marching towards the protesters, raising concerns about a clash.

Netanyahu was expected to make a televised statement Monday announcing that the judicial overhaul plans had been suspended. While he is yet to comment on that, the PM appealed for peace on Twitter. “I call on all the demonstrators in Jerusalem, on the right and the left, to behave responsibly and not to act violently. We are brotherly people,” Netanyahu tweeted.

אני קורא לכל המפגינים בירושלים, מימין ומשמאל, לנהוג באחריות ולא לפעול באלימות. אנשים אחים אנחנו.

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 27, 2023

Escalation of the protests

Departing flights from the country’s main international airport were grounded, large mall chains and universities shut their doors, and Israel’s largest trade union group called for its 800,000 members — in health, transit, banking and other fields — to stop work. The spokesman for Israel’s largest trade union said diplomats at Israeli missions abroad are also striking against the government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary. Yaniv Levy, the Histadrut spokesman, said the missions were providing only emergency services.

Apart from the contested judicial overhaul plans, others factors have contributed to the turmoil in Israel. Read our explainer on that here.

The growing resistance to Netanyahu’s plan came hours after tens of thousands of people burst into the streets against the prime minister’s decision to fire his defence minister after he called for a pause to the juducial overhaul. Chanting “the country is on fire,” they lit bonfires on Tel Aviv’s main highway, closing the thoroughfare and many others throughout the country for hours. Thousands of protesters gathered Monday outside the Knesset, or parliament, to keep up the pressure.

Crowds outside Netanhayu’s home

Netanyahu on Sunday sacked Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, a day after Gallant broke ranks with the government and urged a halt to a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system.

Background of the planned judicial overhaul

Netanyahu returned as Prime Minister on December 29 last year at the head of what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israel’s history. His Likud has 32 seats in the 120-member Knesset, ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties have 18, and an extreme-right alliance has 14 seats.

Even before the new government was formed, as a quid pro quo by Likud to keep its allies, the Knesset passed a law enabling anyone convicted of an offence but not sentenced to prison to serve as a minister. This helped a member of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Shas Party, convicted of tax offences with a suspended sentence, to take charge of three ministries.

Another law enabled two ministers in one office. Thus the leader of the Religious Zionism party who is the finance minister came to hold the charge of the defence ministry that controls civil affairs in the West Bank. Parties to the coalition agreed on proposals for the overhaul of the country’s judicial system.

What exactly do the planned laws propose?

The Israeli judiciary has a reputation for fierce independence, and the draft laws to shackle it include a Bill to change the composition of the nine-member committee that selects judges. This panel currently has the minister of justice and another minister, the Supreme Court president and two judges, two Knesset members, and two representatives of the bar. Under the new proposal, government-nominated members would be in a 7-4 majority in an expanded committee.

The government also wants to enable the 120-member parliament, or Knesset, to override any Supreme Court judgement by a simple majority of 61 votes unless those rulings are unanimous.

Third, it also seeks to scrap the test of “reasonability” which the apex court has previously used to strike out executive practices.

Lastly, the government wants to allow ministers to choose their legal advisors instead of using independent professionals.

(With inputs from AP, Reuters)