During a demonstration against the government’s controversial judicial reform project in Tel Aviv, March 4, 2023. JACK GUEZ / AFP
After nine weeks, the mobilization does not let up. Several thousand Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, March 4, to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s highly controversial reform of the judicial system, which they consider undemocratic.
The right-wing and far-right coalition formed by Binyamin Netanyahu in December is trying to pass legislation that would notably give the government greater influence over judge selection and limit the prerogatives of the Supreme Court, a provocation since the court’s announcement of the text in early January massive demonstrations.
“Democracy, democracy! or “Shame!” chanted protesters in central Tel Aviv amid a swarm of Israeli flags. Demonstrations are also taking place in other Israeli cities.
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Clashes broke out in Tel Aviv on Wednesday between protesters and police, who used water cannons and stun grenades to disperse crowds. Eleven injured protesters were treated at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital, the facility’s spokesman told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The democratic character in danger
According to its critics, the text threatens the democratic character of the State of Israel by aiming to reduce the influence of the judiciary in favor of political power. However, Benyamin Netanyahu and his Justice Minister Yariv Levin believe there is a need to restore a balance of power between elected officials and the Supreme Court, which the prime minister and his allies believe is politicized.
A banner depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a demonstration against his new government’s plans to overhaul the judicial system in Tel Aviv, Israel March 4, 2023. OHAD ZWIGENBERG v AP
“I love my country, I’m a Zionist and I want Israel to remain a Jewish and democratic country,” Revital Lévi, 52, who lives in Tel Aviv, told AFP. “We need a strong, autonomous judicial system and a separation of powers” to “guarantee democracy,” she said. “I don’t miss events,” says Nimrod Mimran, 24, QA engineer. “I feel obliged to fight,” he adds, saying “fear for his rights.”
Two key provisions of the reform – the first to modify the procedure for appointing judges and the second to prevent the Supreme Court from overturning any new constitution passed by Parliament – were approved by MPs in the first lecture .
Another highly controversial provision of the reform, the introduction of an “override” clause allowing Parliament to overrule certain Supreme Court decisions by a simple majority, is due to be put to a first-reading vote at a later date.
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The demonstrations, which generally denounce government policies, do not seem to affect the resolve of Benyamin Netanyahu and his majority at the moment.
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The opposition, including its centre-leader Yair Lapid, has repeatedly accused the prime minister of wanting to serve his personal interests with these reforms. Benyamin Netanyahu, who himself has been charged with corruption on several counts, his critics believe that if the reform is passed, he could break a possible verdict that would condemn him.