In a sea of blue and white flags, many demonstrators against the plan to reform the Israeli judicial system gathered on Monday, February 13, in Jerusalem in front of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. Holding signs saying “Save Israeli Democracy” or “Morally Bankrupt Country,” they oppose a bill to reform the justice system that could increase the grip of political power over the judiciary.
In the absence of police figures, Israeli media estimated the crowd at tens of thousands. This mobilization, strong on the scale of Israel, is coupled with a call for a strike. It is part of a protest movement that has been going on for weeks: every Saturday evening, demonstrators, mainly in Tel Aviv, but also in Jerusalem or Haifa (northern Israel), march against the bill presented in early January by the government.
The latter, considered the most right-wing in the history of Israel, is the result of an alliance between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party, the Likud (right), and religious and far-right formations. Its text provides for increasing the power of elected officials over that of magistrates and considerably limiting the ability of the Supreme Court – considered to be politicized by the government – to invalidate laws and government decisions.
A reform seen as anti-democratic
An “override” clause would allow the Knesset to overrule a Supreme Court decision by a simple majority. While the Israeli prime minister is on trial for corruption in several cases, the reform could, if adopted, be used to quash a possible conviction, argue his detractors.
The Knesset Law Committee began, not without tension, to vote on certain provisions of the text on Monday, February 13, paving the way for a vote at first reading. "Shame, Shame," chanted the opposition MPs present. A video from the parliamentary channel showed three deputies, two of whom had sat down on the ground, grabbed by guards and led to the exit.
Sunday evening, the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, had however tried to calm the situation, by calling for dialogue in a televised speech. "It is possible to reach a consensus," he said, proposing to suspend the current legislative process in order to conduct discussions between the different parties.
However, after this speech, the Minister of Justice refused to delay the debates, while saying he was ready to hold talks with the opposition. The response of the latter remained equally firm: the fight against the reform "will not stop", said on Twitter the leader of the opposition, Yaïr Lapid. " It's urgent. We will not allow the State of Israel to be destroyed,” the opposition party leaders said.
