Biden on Israeli Judicial Reform: Consensus Crucial for Fundamental Changes
US President Joe Biden on Sunday weighed in on the controversial changes planned by the Israeli government to the country’s judicial system, saying that winning over the population was key to such monumental reforms.
“The genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and balances, on an independent judiciary,” Biden told The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman. “Building consensus for fundamental changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can be sustained.”
The proposed reforms include a clause that would allow the country’s parliament, the Knesset, to override a court decision with a simple majority, with parliament able to reinstate laws that the court has already revoked. Courts would also be barred from using a test of “reasonability” in order to revoke government decisions.
The planned overhaul has been met with fierce opposition from many Israelis who claim that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is seeking to weaken the country’s democracy. A poll published Friday by Israel’s Channel 12 television showed that 62% of the population wants the planned reforms to be either stopped altogether or put on hold while discussions are held over their nature.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets every Saturday night for six consecutive weeks to protest the plans, while a nationwide strike is set to take place on Monday as the draft legislation is presented for preliminary voting in the Knesset.
