What happened: The latest, and so far largest, protest against the new government’s planned reforms to Israel’s judicial system took place in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.
- Police estimate that 80,000 Israelis gathered in Habima Square in a demonstration organised by the Movement for Quality Government, while smaller protests were also held in Jerusalem and Haifa.
- After an hour-long delay due to the heavy rain, the tens of thousands of protesters (organisers put the figure at closer to 100,000) proceeded in the direction of the Azrieli Mall and Hashalom Interchange.
- Although police were forced to prevent around 150 protesters from advancing in the direction of the Ayalon Highway, the event took place peacefully.
- While opposition leader Yair Lapid and other members of his Yesh Atid party agreed to stay away to avoid charges of politicisation, several opposition figures as well as retired senior legal figures were in attendance, including National Unity Party head Benny Gantz, MKs Mickey Levy and Chili Tropper, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, Former Supreme Court Justice Ayala Procaccia, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.
- Addressing the crowd, Procaccia said “We’re in a period in which the foundations of the building are being destroyed. A country in which judges and publicly-elected officials head out to protest against a change in the system of government is a country in which all boundaries have been crossed”.
- In her remarks, Livni asserted that: “A government in Israel has gone to war against the democratic institutions themselves in order to gain unbridled rule… We are in historic times that will determine whether Israel remains an advanced democracy or becomes a backward and closed totalitarian state.”
- In comments on the protest, Netanyahu stated they did not alter the government’s clear mandate for judicial reform. “Several months ago”, he told Sunday’s cabinet meeting, “there was a huge demonstration, the mother of all demonstrations. Millions of people went into the streets in order to vote in the elections. One of the main topics that they voted on was reforming the judicial system.”
- Meanwhile, President Isaac Herzog, himself the target of criticism at the protest, continued his “nonstop” attempts to mediate a solution on judicial reform. His interventions have moved beyond calls for respect and unity and now include dealing with the specifics of the reforms themselves.
- Herzog said Sunday that “We are in the grips of a profound disagreement that is tearing our nation apart. This conflict worries me deeply, as it worries many across Israel and the Diaspora… I am now focused on … two critical roles that I believe I bear as president at this hour: averting a historic constitutional crisis and stopping the continued rift within our nation.”
Context: Judicial reform was a central component of the electoral platform of all factions in Netanyahu’s coalition and is a key legislative priority for the new government.
- Justice Minister Yariv Levin detailed his reform proposals on January 4th, which included:
- An override law that would allow the Knesset to reinstate legislation annulled by the Supreme Court, by a simple majority of 61 votes.
- To reform the committee that selects judges, giving politicians more control.
- Abolishing ‘reasonability’ as grounds for the court to cancel government decisions.
- Altering the role of ministerial legal advisors, allowing ministers to appoint their own advisers (like in the UK).
- In an impassioned speech in Haifa last Thursday, Supreme Court president Esther Hayut condemned the proposals as amounting to a government “blank cheque”, and as “a plan to crush the justice system.”
- Regarding Herzog’s mediations, his own comments, together with statements from coalition sources, suggest that while there may be some appetite for compromise, the government and its critics remain some way apart.
- Levin and the government seem adamant that no compromise will be made on their changes to the election of judges, though the potential for a reduction of the proposed 7 political figures on the selection committee of 11 to 6 has been floated.
- Reports in the Israeli media suggest there may be room for compromise in some areas:
- On the court potentially keeping a narrower remit of “reasonableness” as grounds for intervention.
- On the majority of judges required to be in agreement for the annulment of a Knesset decision.
- On a possible increase of the proposed override majority from the 61 currently proposed by Levin.
Looking ahead: Keen not to allow the process to drag on past the end of the Knesset’s Winter session, Levin is seeking a speedy progression of reforms.
- Today the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee will begin “marathon” meetings in order to flesh out the details of Levin’s proposals. Its first order of business will be the question of legal advisors.
- Meanwhile, the Supreme Court’s judgement is expected in the next few days on Shas leader Aryeh Deri’s appointment as a minister.
- An amendment passed to Basic Law: Government allowed for Deri’s criminal conviction to be overcome and his appointment ratified. Should the court choose to exercise its existing right to annul the amendment on the grounds of reasonability, tensions between the executive and the judiciary are likely to reach even greater heights.
- Potential compromises on Levin’s proposals could be affected, with a Likud source quoted as saying that such a decision would “speed up the steps against the justice system and the legislation of the reforms… Deri’s disqualification will be our ‘case’ against the Supreme Court, since this decision will conflict with the democratic process and the election results. It will become a lot easier for us to support legislation to rein in the justice system.”
- Senior figures within the Justice Ministry are also set to respond to Levin’s proposals soon and are likely to flag up various legal and technical objections to implementing the reforms.
- Protests are set to continue, with another large demonstration set for next Saturday. Roee Neuman, a spokesperson for the Black Flags Movement, predicted both a larger next protest and possible increased involvement from Israel’s commercial sector, while former deputy IDF chief of staff and a former deputy minister for Meretz Yair Golan recently called for more consequential acts of civil disobedience.
- Lapid, meanwhile, is said to have met on Sunday with Arnon Bar-David, head of the Histadrut, in an effort to gain the support of the powerful labour union for the opposition to the new government.
