Prime Minister Netanyahu shortly before his visit to Germany.
Tel Aviv. Just before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Germany, hundreds of thousands again demonstrated in Israel against a judicial reform aimed at reducing the power of the Supreme Court in favor of the government. In Tel Aviv alone, around 200,000 protesters took to the streets on Saturday night and around 50,000 in Haifa. There were also rallies in cities such as Jerusalem, Beersheba and Eilat.
Under the religious right-wing government’s plans, parliament should be able to insist on laws that the Supreme Court overturned as unconstitutional with a simple majority. The government should also be given the lead role in appointing judges of all types.
Netanyahu is in Berlin from Wednesday to Friday for the first time since returning to power at the end of last year. A meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also planned. According to media reports, protesters in Israel want to try to prevent the long-term conservative head of government from leaving. He also has to reckon with criticism in Berlin, which is considered a touchy subject for historical reasons. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed concern about the situation in Israel.
Worried about civil war
Critics see the reform as a threat to the separation of powers and warn that Israel could turn into a dictatorship. Historian Yuval Noah Harari even accused the Netanyahu government of planning a “coup d’état”. Proponents of reform, in turn, see the judiciary as a concentrated and privileged establishment of the left. If parliament decides on the reform, the Supreme Court is likely to overturn it. Then there would be the parliamentary decision to remain in power, and with it an unprecedented constitutional crisis. Some observers even fear armed conflicts that could even lead to civil war. (APA/DPA)
(“Die Presse”, print edition, March 13, 2023)