The new, far-right Israeli government takes little time to warm up: it had not yet been lifted into the plush at the end of December when plans to reform the Supreme Court were already being presented. Opponents hold their breath. According to them, a ‘political coup’ is being committed, which is destroying democracy.
Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets last weekend to demonstrate against the plans. In the pouring rain they shouted that Israel should not become Iran; a country where ultra-Orthodox set the rules for everyone and no one can slow down the government. Now Israel will not just turn into a theocracy, but the fear of a more powerful government, which currently consists of ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties, is also well founded, according to experts.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s plan consists of two parts: at present, the Supreme Court can still blow the whistle on the government if new laws are found to conflict with the basic laws of the country (Israel has no constitution). This government wants to put an end to that. If there is a parliamentary majority for a law, then it simply has to be passed. The Court could only prevent this if all 15 judges unanimously agreed on the need to block a law.
According to the second part of the plan, that chance is minimal: now the government appoints only a few members of the panel that selects new judges, but as far as the government is concerned, it will soon appoint the most members. Ministers therefore have much greater influence on who becomes a judge. Also, for example, judges dealing with the current corruption trial against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Tense situation
Now the debate in Israel is rarely conducted calmly, but last week showed how tense the situation is. Opposition leader and former prime minister Yaïr Lapid warned that ‘democracy is collapsing’, former defense minister Benny Gantz said he feared ‘civil war’ and former general Yair Golan called for civil disobedience. In response, MP Zvika Fogel (whose party is part of the government) said all three should be arrested for ‘treason’.
Prime Minister Netanyahu calls for calm, stating that the new rules will be introduced ‘responsibly’. On the right, an overactive non-elected judiciary that selects its own members and has an unreasonable right of veto over democratically elected representatives must be put to an end – arguments that Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, for example, also uses for his reforms.
Critics do have a point. For example, Israel only has a parliament, and no senate that also has to approve laws. In addition, parliamentarians are not voted for in this country; the puppets are designated by the party. In addition, the government is composed of members of the parliamentary majority, so that in practice the legislature and the executive form a single entity. In short, there are few checks and balances in the system.
Palestinians
In the past, this has never happened so quickly in the diverse Israel with its many parties, but in recent years a religious right-wing coalition has emerged that the majority of the country can support. It is feared that an aggressive majority will no longer stand in the way of depriving a minority of all its rights.
How divided that minority itself is, became apparent during the demonstration this weekend, in which the group that has the most to lose was barely present: the Palestinians. They do not trust government institutions anyway, and were not invited. For fear of giving the right even more ammunition, the center left will not stand behind someone waving a Palestinian flag and shouting “end of the occupation.”
It remains to be seen whether the tens of thousands who were there will continue to speak out in the coming weeks, and whether the masses will remain limited to the secular middle class. Only when everyone who polls say is concerned about the new government speak up can Netanyahu stop saying: This is what the country wants.
