After a three-month hiatus, Israel’s far-right ruling coalition got ahead early Tuesday as part of a deeply controversial plan to limit judicial power, a move critics say that would undermine Israel’s democracy and that has deepened the rifts in society.
Lawmakers held their first reading Monday night through early Tuesday on a bill that would limit the Supreme Court’s ability to overrule decisions by elected officials. The interim move was passed by a vote of 64 to 56.
It is expected to spark street protests on Tuesday, rekindling memories of a wave of social unrest in March, when anti-government protesters blocked major roads, Union leaders organized a nationwide strike and thousands of reservists refused to volunteer for duty.
Disputes are part of impasse about broader ideology and culture between the government and its supporters, who wanted to create a more religious and nationalist state, and their opponents, who had a more secular and pluralistic vision.
The bill still needs to pass two further readings in the coming weeks before it becomes law. If fully enacted, it would prevent courts from overruling the government on the basis of “reasonability” – a controversial and flexible legal standard that now allows courts to interfere in governance.
The vote sought to reduce the power of the courts.
The ruling coalition supported the bill because its members said the courts had too much time to interfere in political decisions and that it undermined Israel’s democracy by giving judges unelected legislators too much power over elected legislators.
The coalition says the court has too often acted against right-wing interests – by blocking some construction of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, for example, or removing some. privileges granted to ultra-Orthodox Jews, such as exemption from military service.
To limit the influence of the courts, the government sought to prevent judges from using the concept of “rationality” to overrule decisions made by lawmakers and ministers.
Reasonableness is a legal standard used by many judicial systems, including Australia, Great Britain and Canada. A decision is considered unreasonable if a court finds that the decision was made without considering all relevant factors, or by overestimating the importance of each factor. high unrelated factors.
The government and its advocates say rationality is too vague a concept and has never been codified in Israeli law. The court angered the government this year when some of its judges used the tool to bar Aryeh Deri, an extremely veteran Orthodox politician who served in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet. They argued that Mr Deri’s appointment was unreasonable as he was recently found guilty of tax fraud.
Supporters of the proposed new law also say the courts already have enough other tools to review and limit government decisions. In the past, courts have often ruled against right-wing interest groups without using the concept of rationality — when courts blocked certain forms of settlement construction on the West Coast, for example.
The plan “is not the end of democracy but the consolidation of democracy,” Netanyahu said in a video message on Monday, shortly before the vote.
He added: “The independence of the courts and citizenship in Israel will not be compromised in any way.
Critics want to further test the government’s power.
Opponents fear that if the bill becomes law, the courts will be less able to stop the government’s abuse of power.
They say the government, unencumbered by reasonable standards, may find it easier to end the prosecution of Mr. corruption trial fee.
In particular, some warned that the government would be freer to replace attorney general Gali Baharav-Miara, who oversaw the prosecution of Mr. Netanyahu. Mr. Netanyahu denied any plans to disrupt his trial.
Critics also fear that the changes could allow the government – the most right-wing and religiously conservative in Israel’s history – to restrict civil liberties or undermine secular aspects of Israel’s civil liberties. Israeli society.
“I appeal to the prime minister: Don’t abandon the State of Israel, don’t abandon the citizens of Israel,” said Benny Gantz, an opposition leader, during a parliamentary debate ahead of the vote.
“Stop everything,” Mr. Gantz added. “This is the last call before the abyss.”
The plan was watered down.
Initially, the government attempted to enact even more controversial bills that would give them more control over the selection of Supreme Court justices, limiting the court’s ability to in dismissing Parliament and allowing Parliament to overrule the courts. Mr. Netanyahu Sudden pause in efforts In March, after a wave of strikes and protests that closed many parts of the country, business leaders began to divest from the Israeli economy and a growing number of reservists said they would resign. refuse to voluntarily perform the obligation.
The government then negotiated with opposition leaders for weeks in an effort find a compromise. Mr. Netanyahu also promised not to proceed with the proposed override, one of the most controversial parts of the plan.
But the opposition leave last month’s talkafter ruling lawmakers obstructed the appointment of new judges — a move the opposition says has undermined their confidence in the negotiations.
In response, the government decided to continue with the lower-profile aspects of the overhaul, essentially removing the streamlined mechanism.
More protests are coming.
Even with those amendments, the opposition movement still believes the plan jeopardizes democracy and reduces checks and balances on government operations. They also said the government would be incentivized to do the more dangerous parts of the overhaul if reasonable standards were removed.
Although it is not the final decision, the vote is expected to rekindle the disruptive mass protests that have brought the country to the fore. a stalemate in the spring.
Major events were planned for Monday and Tuesday nights, when protesters are expected to stage rallies and block roads and access to critical infrastructure, like stadiums. main flight.
Even before voting began on Monday night, some protesters were detained after they tried to glue themselves to part of a voting booth in Parliament.
Gabby Sobelman Contribution report from Rehovot, Israel.
