Despite criticism, Israeli President pursues changes to the judiciary
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Sulaiman
- . February 20, 2023
- . Update: February 20, 2023 6:44 pm
Despite huge protests, warnings from military and industry leaders, and pleas for restraint from the United States, Israel’s government was moving forward on Monday with a divisive plan to reform the nation’s legal system.
For the second consecutive week, thousands of protesters were anticipated to gather in front of the Knesset to demonstrate against the proposal as MPs prepared to hold a preliminary vote.
The initiative, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, a group of ultra-religious and ultranationalist politicians, is intended to correct a system that has given the courts and legal advisers to the government too much influence over how laws are written and decisions are made.
Israel is currently experiencing one of its worst domestic crises, and the impasse has widened the gap between Israelis over the nature of their nation and the principles they believe ought to govern it.
The portion of the bill that was voted on Monday has only undergone the first of the three readings necessary for parliamentary approval. Even though it’s anticipated that the process will take months, the vote, which many people view as showing poor faith, shows how determined the coalition is to move on.
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Israel’s symbolic president has asked the administration to halt the legislation and look for a middle ground with the opposition. Leaders in the burgeoning tech industry have cautioned that weakened judicial systems may scare away investment. Each week, tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrate in Tel Aviv and other cities.
Almost 100,000 people participated in a protest outside the Knesset last week as a committee gave the plan its initial approval. The city had not seen a protest quite like it.
Former security chiefs, who were previously quiet, have spoken out in response to the revamp and have even warned of civil war. A group of army veterans in their 60s and 70s seized a decommissioned tank from a war memorial site and covered it with Israel’s declaration of independence before being apprehended by authorities as a sign of the escalating tensions.
Even the US, Israel’s main international backer, has issued a rare warning in response to the plan.
Israel should “pump the brakes” on the law and look for a consensus on reform that will safeguard Israel’s democratic institutions, according to US Ambassador Tom Nides, who stated this over the weekend in a podcast.
Allies of Netanyahu reacted angrily to Nides’ remarks and urged him to refrain from interfering in Israel’s domestic affairs.
In a Sunday speech to his cabinet, Netanyahu rejected claims that Israel’s democracy was in danger. He declared that Israel “was and will remain a robust and vibrant democracy.”
Israel has long bragged about its democratic credentials, but some argue that this boast is soiled by the country’s occupation of the West Bank and the way it treats its own Palestinian minority.
