“Pay attention to the public pulse”
Most contentious part of Israel’s judicial reform to fall
06/29/2023, 10:50 am
Prime Minister Netanyahu is apparently bowing to the massive protests from Israel’s population. He now wants to do without a particularly sensitive component of his judicial reform. However, Netanyahu leaves open what he is planning instead.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he will drop the most controversial part of the planned judicial reform. This would have allowed Parliament to overturn Supreme Court rulings. Netanyahu told the Wall Street Journal that he would also revise another controversial element of the reform that would have given the ruling coalition more power to appoint judges.
The conservative politician, who leads a partially right-wing government, left it open what the new version would look like. “I’m watching the public pulse and what I think will hold up,” Netanyahu said. Tens of thousands have been protesting against the planned judicial reform for months. In the wake of the mass protests and the threat of extensive strikes, the Israeli government postponed its plans at the end of March.
Last week, lawmakers began debating the bill that would limit the powers of the Supreme Court. The reform aims to give the government control over the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court. It would also have the power to overrule court decisions on the basis of a simple parliamentary majority. Critics see the independence of the judiciary and thus democracy in Israel in danger.
They also see it as an attempt by Netanyahu, who is on trial on charges of bribery, to limit the independence of the court. The planned changes also raised concerns in the West about Israel’s democratic constitution and scared off investors. The government has said the reform is necessary to rein in judges and strike a proper balance between the elected government and the judiciary.