Is Compromise on the Horizon as Israeli Judicial Reforms Divide the Nation?

The political rift widens as tens of thousands of protesters take to Jerusalem’s streets

A political drama continues to unfold in Israel as tens of thousands of Israelis protested on Monday against government plans to reform the judicial system.

Scores made their way to Jerusalem to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, in order to demonstrate as the legislative process of the reform begins. There was heavy traffic on the highways leading to the city, convoys with flags drove slowly and TV footage showed long queues at train stations.

The scenes were a culmination of weeks of demonstrations in the country. They also reflect a big rift in the public that seems to be getting wider.

“Stop leading the country to anarchy,” Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appealed to opposition leaders in a video released Monday evening. “Get your act together, show responsibility and leadership. The majority of the public doesn’t want anarchy, they want concrete dialogue and unity.”

Simultaneously, the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset began deliberating the draft laws and voted to advance the first part of the legislation, as members of the opposition tried to interrupt the session, often successfully. After the bills are approved in committee, they will be voted on three times in the Knesset plenum. This process could take months.

Just hours before, Israeli President Isaac Herzog urged for dialogue between the sides, in a televised address on Sunday evening.

“I feel, we all feel, that we are in a moment before a collision, even a violent collision, a barrel of explosives before a blast,” Herzog said, expressing concern that the heated debate would spill over into a more violent confrontation.

The Israeli government, led by Netanyahu and the Likud party, has vowed to push forward with the reforms despite public outcry. Netanyahu’s statement made no indication of willingness to compromise.

The overhaul includes granting the Knesset the ability to override Supreme Court rulings with a simple majority. Politicians will be given greater influence in the appointment of Supreme Court justices and legal advisers to ministries will be political appointments as opposed to the civil servants they are today.

Proponents say the changes are necessary to rein in the courts which have become too powerful. They also say the Supreme Court often intervenes in political issues that should be determined by the parliament.

“We are not trying to harm democracy, we are trying to strengthen it,” said Member of Knesset Dan Illouz of Likud. “We want to give the people more power to control themselves, together with checks and balances that will remain as part of the reform. This is a moderate reform.”

Opponents of the reforms say they will weaken the courts by curbing their independence and give the ruling coalition limitless power. They believe this will weaken Israeli democracy significantly.

“This reform is not about procedures, it is about the essence of democracy,” said Professor Barak Medina of the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “This is about Israel’s commitment to liberal principles of tolerance and equality.”

Netanyahu, who is on trial on several corruption charges, is also being blamed by his opponents for having a personal motivation behind the reforms. The Israeli premier denies any wrongdoing and also rules out trying to influence the outcome of his trial by reconfiguring the judicial system.

Herzog’s plea was largely unheeded. Israel’s justice minister and the main promoter of the reforms, Yariv Levin, said he would be willing to talk to those opposing the reforms, as long as the legislative process continues.

“We all have enough time to discuss and reach understandings,” Levin posted on his Facebook page.

Should the reforms pass in their original form, there will be petitions to the Supreme Court.

“If the laws will pass with only coalition support, without wider support, and their content will contradict democratic values, they will likely be struck down by the Supreme Court,” Medina explained.

Levin has said he will not tolerate the court striking down the reform and will respond accordingly.

“President Herzog is trying to help the coalition back down, as they understand that these laws will not pass,” Medina added. “Not only because of the public outcry but also because of the looming threat of the Supreme Court review.”

So far, it doesn’t appear that Netanyahu or his partners are willing to budge.

“We are not entrenched in our position,” said Illouz. “We are ready to talk but the dialogue needs to be in the Knesset, which is the body we seek to strengthen through this reform.”

Speaking to protestors in front of the Knesset, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz said there would be no dialogue with the coalition until it freezes the legislation.

Monday was the first time that some of the protestors also held a strike. Employers around the country allowed workers to participate in demonstrations.

“Today is the day of the opening shot in our transition from protest to resistance,” said Roee Neuman, one of the organizers of the protests, who estimated one million people will participate in the different protests. “This is a warning for the government that there will be more of this if they proceed with legislation.”

“Striking and traffic disruption will be a permanent state,” Neuman warned.

“We will not stop the process which has begun,” said MK Illouz. “Changes can be discussed during the process; we are willing to listen.”

According to Illouz, the plans for the judiciary are not revolutionary, as some of its opponents believe. Judges will still have seats in the judicial selection committee that appoints them.

“We could have had parliament alone select judges,” said Illouz. He also added that the override clause could have called for any majority, not a 61-seat majority of the 120-seat Knesset.

The opposition is also concerned with the change in the appointment of legal advisers to ministries. The plan to split the role of the attorney general role into two, separating the duty as legal adviser to the executive branch and its role as the chief prosecutor of the state, is a “critical” part of the plan, according to Medina, that needs to be addressed. The current government believes the attorney general has too much power.

As demonstrators gathered in front of the Knesset and the coalition continued to promote its reforms inside the building, the sides couldn’t appear further apart.

“We are confident that we will stop the legislation through very harsh measures we will take,” said Neuman. “They do not have the public legitimacy to move forward. We still live in a democracy, where the power of the government comes not only from elections but from legitimacy given by the citizens.”

A poll published Sunday by Kan broadcaster in Israel showed that half of the public opposed the reforms, while a third supports them in their entirety. Almost 60% of Israelis believe legislation should be stopped in order to conduct a public discourse on the plans. Only 22% believe the government should continue unhindered.

Hovering in the background is the impact of the reforms on the Israeli economy. Leading economists around the world have warned that the moves could steer investments from Israel and harm the economy. In recent weeks, the Israeli currency, the shekel, has been weakening against the dollar. Several Israeli high-tech companies have already announced their intention to extricate money from the country. This has led to a heated debate on the legitimacy of such moves as part of the struggle against the reforms.

“This is a pure business move as part of risk management of their funds,” said Doron Amir, an Israeli high-tech entrepreneur in the field of cybersecurity and founder of the unicorn company CyTaka. “The calls to divest from Israel from within the country are a political outcry that only represents a small minority that mixes between business and politics.”

“This is not an act of protest,” said Neuman. “These are companies showing concern for their money as a result of the judicial coup. They have a responsibility to their business, their employees, and their clients.”

“But if the reforms will be implemented, the Israeli economy will collapse,” he added.

At this point, Israel’s economy is far from collapse. With one of the largest foreign exchange reserves in the world and a relatively low national debt, the economy is strong and can likely withstand the political storm.

“A strong economy should not be impacted by such moves,” Amir said. “The option to raise money and investments is still there and business is being conducted as usual.”

“The talk is just creating panic among the public. Such talk can impact the market but there is no cause for concern. Israel will remain a democracy; it is in our DNA,” he added.

Protesters gather in Jerusalem on Feb. 13, 2023 against the Israeli government’s judicial reform proposals. (Dario Sanchez/The Media Line)

The government has a solid majority in parliament and can choose to ignore the public, even as the streets leading to the parliament were blocked with flag-hoisting protestors.

“The coalition has underestimated the resistance and they will have difficulty passing the reforms on a political level,” said Medina. “So there is an opening for dialogue and there will be some sort of compromise.”