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JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister, a senior ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Saturday called for a freeze on the government’s controversial attempt to overhaul the country’s judicial system, saying the massive backlash it has unleashed is becoming a threat to the country’s security country.
Two other members of Netanyahu’s Likud party immediately joined the call to halt the judicial push, and at least one other is said to have considered doing so, according to Israeli media. The defectors could jeopardize the ability of Netanyahu’s coalition of ultra-Orthodox and right-wing nationalist parties, which only has a four-seat majority in parliament, to push through the legislative package.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has been signaling for days that he is uncomfortable with the growing number of military officials joining the mass protest movement against the judiciary overhaul. Hundreds of reservists have pledged to boycott their regular training missions, and Israel Defense Forces confirmed absenteeism was increasing.
Gallant announced on Thursday that he would make a public statement on the impact of the unrest on Israel’s military preparedness. Instead, he was summoned to Netanyahu’s office and after their meeting canceled his scheduled appearance. It was the Prime Minister who took the podium for a prime-time televised address on Thursday, reassuring the country that the changes were necessary and that he would get important pieces through as early as next week.
Exactly 48 hours later, with Netanyahu in London, Gallant went public with his concerns. He said he still supports the need to transform the court system and acknowledged that “unprecedented feelings of anger, pain and disappointment” have risen within the military over the proposed changes to Israel’s balance of power.
“This poses a clear, imminent and tangible threat to the security of the state,” he said in the statement. “For the sake of Israel’s security, for the sake of our sons and daughters, the legislative process should be halted.”
Israel’s military joins nationwide protests against the judiciary overhaul
The coalition has proposed reshaping the courts to give them more power to override Supreme Court decisions and select judges and judges. The long-awaited changes are necessary because the courts have become too powerful at the expense of elected officials and are hopelessly biased towards the country’s left-wing elite.
Opponents say the moves are an attempt by far-right politicians to remove one of the only checks on their power, a shift that would allow them to make radical changes in society and tilt the country toward authoritarianism.
The proposals, introduced without warning in January just days after the new government took power, sparked a wave of condemnation at home and abroad. Tens of thousands of street protests erupted in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and other cities that have only grown since. As Gallant spoke, huge crowds gathered in several cities on Saturday night.
Far-right members of the coalition immediately condemned the minister’s statement. According to media reports, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extremist settler leader whose party has called for the expulsion of “disloyal” Palestinians from Israel, called on Netanyahu to fire Gallant. The communications minister said his Likud colleague had “succumbed to pressure from the left”.
But other Likud leaders followed his example: Yuli Edelstein, the former Knesset speaker who heads the parliamentary committee on security and foreign affairs, and David Bitan, a Likud MP who has previously made his concerns public. At least one other is said to be wavering, according to Israeli media.
If all four vote against the bills, the coalition’s efforts could falter.
There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office. The Prime Minister left for London on Friday, where he was greeted by protesters and an exhortation from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about the need to uphold “democratic values”.
However, opposition leaders welcomed Gallant’s move. Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement it was a “bold and important step for the security of the State of Israel”.