The nationwide anti-government protest which has gripped Israel for five weeks has gone into its sixth. On Monday, February 13th, some 70,000 demonstrators from all over the country gathered in Jerusalem in front of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
The cause for the broad mobilisation is alarm over plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightist government to reduce the Supreme Court’s power, while increasing parliament’s. If approved, the reform would allow the latter to overturn decisions made by the Supreme Court by a simple majority, even if it violates the constitution.
While demonstrations against the planned reform were habitually held every Saturday, this week’s developments had the opposition breaking protocol. As anticipated by protesters, on Monday, February 13th, the Knesset Constitution Committee voted to send the first chapter of the plan to the plenum for a first reading. A total of three such readings in parliament are needed before the new law can be passed.
Hundreds of tech companies, law firms, and businesses in the private sector announced they were joining the nationwide strike, as were thousands of doctors and other healthcare workers.
Several ministers tried to discourage people from coming to the demonstration. For example, the education minister said that teachers would not get paid if they went to demonstrate and that students who came to the protests would be considered truant.
Nevertheless, many students and even schoolchildren took to the streets, as in Tel Aviv, where hundreds of parents and schoolchildren joined in a protest march. As a result of the mass travel involved, several major roads were congested, including the main road to the international airport near Tel Aviv. Protests were also observed in Haifa.
Many were seen waving Israeli flags and holding protest signs—inscribed with slogans such as ‘Save Democracy’—aloft. In Jerusalem, opposition leader Yair Lapid (of the centrist Yesh Atid party) addressed the crowd, vowing they would “not stay quiet as they destroy everything that is precious and sacred to us.”
While outside chanting continued, inside the Committee’s room, a row broke out between the opposition and coalition members. Confronting the ruling coalition, some agitated members of the opposition kept on shouting “shame, shame!”
“You will burn up the country!” Idan Roll of the centrist Yesh Atid party sniped at Simcha Rothman, the panel chairman from the hard-right Religious Zionism bloc, before being firmly escorted out along with other members of the opposition. One MP from the opposition’s Yisrael Beiteinu party burst into tears.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a committed proponent of the reform, also seeks to change the composition of the panel which is tasked with appointing judges. In the past, he has accused the Supreme Court of excessive interference in political decision-making.
Critics, however, argue—and fear—the diminishing of the judiciary would do irreparable harm to Israel’s democratic system. In addition, they suspect that Prime Minister Netanyahu (from the conservative-liberal Likud party) seeks such a reform in order to avoid being convicted of corruption charges.
The 73-year-old Netanyahu, who last December regained the presidency as leader of a nationalist/religionist coalition government, denies the charges for which he is still on trial.
In a mid-January response video aimed at Supreme Court President Esther Hayut (a fierce critic of the proposed change), Netanyahu said the draft law could be tweaked, and that critics were exaggerating any threat it might entail:
When one says a minor correction would be the destruction of democracy, it is not only a false argument, it is also one that does not allow any understanding that should be reached in substantive discussions in the Israeli Knesset.
With a population already deeply divided, the current government’s reform plans serve to further inflame relations between the Left and the Right. In a Sunday night speech, President Isaac Herzog expressed concern about the consequences, fearing not only constitutional but also social “collapse.”
“We are only moments away from a clash, perhaps even a violent one,” Herzog said, as he called for dialogue and compromise.
He believes that reform plans should be postponed and that the Netanyahu government should work towards a compromise. According to him, this would prevent a societal rift and stave off violent escalation. Herzog’s role is however primarily ceremonial, and thus carries little actual political weight.
While Netanyahu has expressed an openness to negotiations, he does not want to postpone or in any way halt the procedure.
Late Monday evening, February 13th, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee Chairman MK Simcha Rothman said they were willing to meet with opposition leaders, but did not heed Herzog’s call for a pause while talks are being held.
