Until October 7 last year – the day Hamas attacked Israel and claimed 1,200 lives without its intelligence agencies noticing what was happening in its backyard – the judicial reform passed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last July was that most important political issue on Israel's agenda supporting its ultra-Orthodox and far-right partners. This Monday, the Supreme Court struck down the law that was supposed to prevent its judges from paralyzing government decisions because they were considered unreasonable.
The resolution, which was leaked to the media on Wednesday, deals a new blow to Netanyahu in his lowest moments. Recent polls show that social support has collapsed – his party, the Likud, would now receive half the number of representatives it has in the Knesset today – due to the unpopularity of this now-cancelled reform and the fact that it has not succeeded , to prevent the massacre that was triggered by the war.
The reform, which led to massive demonstrations across the country for 30 weeks, strips the Supreme Court of the ability to overturn decisions by the government, ministers or elected officials that it deems inappropriate. This is one of the Supreme Court's legal filters in a country without a constitution (it is guided by a number of basic laws developed over the years) and in which Parliament elects the Prime Minister.
The opposition sees the Supreme Court as a guarantor of the separation of powers and the rule of law, while the right sees it as an ideological and interventionist body. The approval on July 24 came thanks to the votes of Netanyahu's coalition (the right-wing Likud and the ultra-Orthodox and ultra-nationalists), while the entire opposition was absent from parliament. After his vote, Washington deemed the new legislation “unfortunate.”
The court decision opens a new front for the prime minister. The Supreme Court's ruling was not easy. Its importance is reflected in the fact that it is the first time since the body's inception with the founding of the country in 1948 that it has been held by the 15 judges who compose it. The verdict was carried out as expected by the leakers, with eight of them voting in favour. Its deliberations came amid more or less veiled attacks by the government and other officials who believed the court lacked the authority to overturn the norm and massive demonstrations by critics calling for its repeal. The reform led to unprecedented polarization in Israeli society.
The judges of the Supreme Court, in September in Jerusalem.DEBBIE HILL / POOL (EFE)
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The Quality of Government movement in Israel, the main initiator of the protests, has already expressed its satisfaction with the resolution. “It is a historic day and a tremendous victory for those who defend democracy,” that organization said in a statement. “A government and ministers who tried to evade judicial control knew that there were judges in Jerusalem, that there was democracy and separation of powers.” For his part, the head of the movement, Eliad Shraga, added: “The enormous public campaign and the courageous resistance to these very dangerous laws, as well as the protests and petitions to the Supreme Court, show the enormous public power we have in our hands.” We looked corruption in the eyes and he looked down. We thank the court for this important decision. “We will continue to do whatever is necessary to repair the country and preserve democracy.”
Government anger
The government's anger was expressed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who accused judges of “usurping all powers.” “The judges have taken into their hands all the powers of the state, which in a democratic system are distributed in a balanced manner between the three branches of government,” said Levin, who is considered the architect of the reform. “The Supreme Court has taken away the voice of millions of citizens,” he added. Netanyahu assured that if the regulation were repealed, he would not abide by the resolution, which would lead to a constitutional crisis unprecedented in the country's history. The Likud has stated that the decision is unfortunate and that it goes against “the people's desire for unity, especially during war.”
It remains to be seen how the prime minister will deal with the setback, but the truth is that the new coup comes at his worst moment of popularity, whose decline has increased with the Hamas attacks on October 7, despite having one of the most powerful The Netanyahu government didn't know how to avoid the world's intelligence agencies. The latest poll in a series of polls conducted in recent months and published last Thursday by the Maariv newspaper gave it 17 seats if elections were held today, compared to the 32 seats it currently has. These polls give the winner to Benny Gantz's fellow conservative National Unity Party, which is currently integrated into the emergency government that Netanyahu formed to wage war. The next elections are planned for 2026.
The verdict has full implications for the War Cabinet. Several of its members, all from Gantz's electoral list – Gadi Eisenkot and Gideon Saar – were not present at the vote last July. Yoav Gallant, the Likud defense minister, publicly called for the reform to be withdrawn on national security grounds, prompting the prime minister to threaten to fire him.
In front of them, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, and Itamar Ben Gvir, Interior Minister and head of the ultranationalists of Otsmá Yehudit, defended the reform. The last two are also among those who want Israel to take control of Gaza after the conflict and re-establish settler settlements in the Gaza Strip. On the same Sunday, Ben Gvir called for going further and requesting the adoption of a national emigration law to expel Palestinians from the currently besieged territory and send them to third countries. US President Joe Biden has called on Netanyahu to break his coalition with these two parties.
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