Mobilization against the judicial reform project defended by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and his far-right allies continues in Israel. But on the contrary. On Monday, February 20, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered near Parliament in Jerusalem, where a first-reading vote is scheduled to take place later in the evening on this law, which its critics see as dangerous to democracy.
A week earlier there had been a monster demonstration in front of Parliament as part of the legislation began to be examined.
Parallel to the mobilization around the Knesset on Saturday and for the seventh week in a row, thousands of Israelis demonstrated in several cities across the country against the project announced by Justice Minister Yariv Levin in early January.
This project, deemed necessary by the Prime Minister and his allies to restore a balance of power between elected officials and the judiciary, notably includes the introduction of an “exception clause” allowing Parliament to pass a Supreme Court decision by simple majority cancel . The latter would also see its independence in question, since the text must allow political power to directly appoint the judges sitting in the judiciary.
A “mass movement”
“The protest movement is clearly not running out of steam,” said David Khalfa, co-director of the Jean Jaurès Foundation’s North Africa and Middle East Observatory, which has gained momentum in recent weeks and is in the process of moving on to another phase, because we are witnessing an expansion of protest, which started out as a niche movement, into a mass movement.
David Khalfa reminds that the protest started seven weeks ago mainly in Tel Aviv, bringing together several thousand people during a demonstration, mainly from the secular bourgeoisie and the liberal and progressive intellectual elite. But also left- and center-left groups that took part in the demonstrations against Benjamin Netanyahu in 2021 to demand his resignation after the first allegations of corruption were directed against him.
Demonstration in front of the Knesset
“The movement grew from the second week, gathering tens of thousands of people and reaching hundreds of thousands of people in the following week, which is far from trivial in a country of about 9 million people, he notes. What is striking seven weeks later is its transversality. We are now observing the diversity of its ideological and sociological base, as people like lawyers or startups who have always stayed away from any kind of protest have joined veterans and regulars of the protest.”
This shrewd observer of Israeli political life points out that initially within the demonstrations there was a split “between those who do not want to separate the issue of fighting the occupation from defending democracy in Israel and those who on the contrary, believe that the ranks of protest must be opened up, including in the center and in the “liberal right”, in order to unite Israelis as broadly as possible behind pro-democracy slogans.
“And it’s more of this last line that takes precedence because we’re seeing more and more protesters from the religious Zionist and Orthodox circles in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and in other big cities across the country,” he stresses academics, start-ups , bankers and lawyers, we saw among the demonstrators former security service, ex-Shin Bet and Mossad bosses, such as Yoram Cohen, a religious Zionist, or Yossi Cohen, both appointed to their posts by Benjamin Netanyahu, but also soldiers, among them former chiefs of staff.
“Resistance to this reform is bridging the left-right divide”
According to David Khalfa, Benjamin Netanyahu did not expect a bipartisan protest movement of this magnitude to rise up against his project.
“It is precisely from this point of view that one can already speak of a failure of the Prime Minister, who nevertheless tried to convince public opinion and the international community that it is about a reform, believes – II. Except that the Israeli population does not can be fooled. They understood what it is about and for them it is existential in the sense that this issue is directly linked to the future of the country and its democratic character.”
And to continue: “We see in the polls that a majority of Israelis, both left and right, are against this very reform, without being against judicial reform per se,” emphasizes David Khalfa. According to a recent poll, 42% of Likud voters oppose Netanyahu’s reform; this is a very telling number showing that opposition to this reform is crossing the left-right divide.”
On Sunday evening, Israeli President Isaac Herzog – who only has a mainly ceremonial role – expressed his concern. “We are facing a crucial test. I see the divisions and fissures between us that are getting deeper and more painful,” he said.
On February 12, he addressed the nation in a televised address, urging Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the legislative process and join forces with the opposition to reach a compromise in a country “on the brink of collapse.” Constitutional and social.
For David Khalfa, the street-imposed balance of power “forces” Benjamin Netanyahu to go on the defensive, accusing the left of rushing the streets and justifying himself on the domestic and international stage. Former Prime Minister and opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been accused of corruption on several occasions, of trying to serve his personal interests with a reform that would protect him from possible conviction.
“These demonstrations have the benevolent listening of the international community, which allows the United States and France in particular to plead for a compromise,” analyzes David Khalfa. This climate of protest does not allow the prime minister and his allies to assert themselves. and, on the contrary, forces them to consider, or at least pretend to negotiate, the demands of the street.
Especially since the mobilization is in danger of taking a new turn.
“When the movement started with peaceful demonstrations – they still do – a form of radicalization is emerging, as we saw this morning with protesters trying to block parliamentarians who wanted to vote for reform in the Legal Affairs Committee to go to the Knesset, which is quite unprecedented in the country’s political history.”
On Monday, Israeli police announced the arrest of activists who attempted to block streets and the entrance to the home of Tally Gotlib, an elected representative of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, in the morning.
Meanwhile, local media reported that the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency had warned Justice Minister Yariv Levin of the rising violence in the country over the judicial reform bill, urging him to “do everything possible to calm things down and prevent the situation from worsening.” .
“We can now clearly see that certain groups have opted for a strategy of direct action, civil disobedience and roadblocks to force Netanyahu and his allies to surrender or negotiate by suspending reform,” continues David Khalfa, das Minimum target of today’s protesters. and if Netanyahu continues, the movement could become even more radical.”
The attempt to blockade Tally Gotlib’s home drew sharp condemnation from both Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival Yaïr Lapid, although the latter is not spearheading the challenge.
“Initially, opposition leaders were not really welcome at the demonstrations because their divisions were blamed for Netanyahu’s return to business,” says David Khalfa of the two main figures, former Defense Secretary Benny Gantz and Yaïr Lapid [les deux centristes étaient présents à la manifestation de ce lundi, NDLR].”
Although they are beginning to get back into the game, David Khalfa believes it is far too early to know which of the two will benefit politically from this massive movement.
“This polymorphic, bourgeois and pro-democracy movement comes from the grassroots, from the field and above all does not want to be exploited by political forces to prevent it from suffocating and to continue to welcome everyone with open arms against this reform, concludes he. He is backed by steering committees and mobilization veterans launching calls for demonstrations on social media, and he has produced no leader. This is both its strength and its weakness.