Netanyahu’s bold move sparks turmoil, again: Israel's judicial overhaul in the spotlight

What is happening in Israel?

Thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv and other cities on Saturday, July 15, to protest against judicial overhaul after Israel’s parliament, known as Knesset, endorsed a bill that would limit the powers of the country’s Supreme Court in what became a controversial judicial overhaul in the country.

Sixty-four in the 120-member Knesset voted for the limits, giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right governing coalition the go-ahead in securing the first out of three required votes before a bill turns into a law.

Protests against the Israeli government’s plans to reform the judiciary have been ongoing every Saturday since January.

What is the judicial overhaul?

On January 4, 2023, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a right-wing politician, proposed an overhaul of Israel's judiciary system meant to limit the authority of the Supreme Court and give the government control over the selection of judges, among other proposals.

The judicial reform is aimed at giving the Knesset more power to appoint and remove judges. The bill, proposed by Netanyahu, who is still facing corruption charges, has been met with widespread criticism, with opponents arguing that it would undermine the independence of the judiciary.

Furthermore, it aims to grant the government increased influence in the selection of judges. The proposed measure would restrict the authority of the Supreme Court to rule against the legislative and executive branches. It would grant the Israeli parliament, Knesset, the ability to overturn Supreme Court verdicts with a simple majority of 61 votes out of 120.

Justifying the overhaul, Levin said judicial activism had ruined public trust in the legal system and inhibited the effective rule of the government.

«We go to the polls, vote, elect, and time after time, people we didn’t elect choose for us. Many sectors of the public look to the judicial system and do not find their voices heard,» he said, announcing the reform on January 4 at Knesset. «That is not democracy.»

The proposal sparked a significant wave of opposition upon its initial introduction. The ensuing weeks witnessed unprecedented street demonstrations, which caused concerns and disrupted Israel's economy.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but there have been some clashes between protesters and police. In one incident, police used water cannon to disperse protesters who were blocking a highway.

In March, following a nationwide strike that resulted in a temporary closure of the airport and amid international criticism, including from United States President Joe Biden, Netanyahu decided to halt the entire package plan. Now, after the negotiations with opposition parties failed to come to an agreement, he is determined to push it forward.

The bill also seeks to diminish the «reasonability» clause that grants the judiciary the power to invalidate governmental rulings.

According to Netanyahu and his supporters, reforms curtailing judiciary powers are needed to rein in a judiciary that enjoys too much power. Others, however, say the plan undermines the foundations of democracy in Israel.

«This is a battle for the country, we want to keep Israel democratic and the dictatorship laws won’t pass here,» one of the protesters told the AFP news agency.

What is the situation in the government?

In November, the right-wing coalition, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, secured a majority of seats in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, paving the way for the controversial figure's return to power.

Two key positions in the government and Knesset were given to two long-time critics of the Israeli judiciary - Yariv Levin of Likud Party, who now serves as Minister of Justice, and Simcha Rothman, a member of the Knesset for the far-right Religious Zionist Party, who serves as the chair of the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

It is unclear how long the protests will continue, but they have already significantly impacted Israeli politics, raising questions about the future of democracy in Israel.

Some analysts believe the country is headed for a political crisis, while others believe the protests will eventually subside.

What do experts say?

«Of course, there are opponents. Israel is a democratic society in which there are different views. As we see today, in other democracies, sometimes the degree of opposition between people of different views is very, very high. It is also in Israel today. But we have to remember that we recently had elections, and the topic of judicial legal reform was one of the main themes of the election campaign. The right-wing won a convincing victory in those elections promising reform. So even though the left camp opposes it, there is after all the will of the voters, whose will has recently been reflected in their choice,» said attorney Ariel Bulstein, who is a former adviser to Israel’s Prime Minister.

From his observations, he could see a very sharp polarization in society regarding values between the two political camps.

«Here we should emphasize an interesting point. Among voters there is a clear majority of people with right-wing views. But among the judicial and legal elite, people with left-wing views rule and dominate by 90-100 percent. Realizing that they have little chance of winning the elections, as they are traditionally won by right-wing forces, the left-wing elites began to use the judicial and legal structures to impose their views. In particular, through their domination of the Supreme Court,» he said.

Forecasting different scenarios, Bulstein said in a democratic state, there is only one possibility of decision-making – through an elected legitimate parliament.

«If the demonstrators in the streets who come out and try to impose their will against the will of the voters, if they succeed in stopping these judicial reforms, their implementation into law, that would be a very bad lesson for Israeli democracy. It would actually show that violence and rejection of the will of the majority can win. Therefore, it seems to me optimal to conduct the discussion, however heated it may be, everywhere, including in the media, in the public space, first of all, of course, in the parliament, in its commissions. But as a result, the decision should be made by parliamentarians, freely, without pressure, naturally, without violence, and should reflect the will of the voters. That is, what the majority of the country's citizens want,» he explained.

At the political level, the Knesset's latest approval of the first part of the bill signifies the government's determination to forcefully pass a legislative agenda aimed at diminishing the authority of the courts, thereby altering the democratic landscape and deviating from Israel's established constitutional norms and institutions, writes Dr. Nadiv Mordechay, a researcher in the program for the Defense of Democratic Values and Institutions at the Israel Democracy Institute, and the research coordinator of the Center for Democratic Values and Institutions.

«On the public level, it reflects the extension of populist power by the current government – the most far-right and religious in the country’s history – and its tendency to favor extreme factions on the fringes of the government's coalition, at the expense of mainstream Israeli public opinion. It is no wonder that this aggressive move will prolong this time of crisis in Israel, in which the country is being rocked by a constitutional conflict and the accompanying mass protests, now in their sixth month,» writes the expert.

What is next?

While Netanyahu’s coalition managed to secure the majority of deputies’ votes in the first voting, the bill is yet to receive approval through two additional votes, anticipated to take place before the end of the month, in order to be enacted as law. The Knesset’s summer session ends on July 30.