Dov Lieber
WSJ, July 28, 2023
“… right-wing governments that have been in power since the late 1970s have never been able to fully carry out their vision because the Supreme Court has repeatedly struck down major legislative priorities.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition scored a major victory this week when it passed the first part of a package of legislation aimed at remaking the country’s judiciary. Now, it is ready for more.
High on the list is giving elected officials control of the committee that selects judges, one of the most contentious parts of the judicial overhaul. Netanyahu shelved a bill in March that would have given the government majority control of the committee in the face of mass protests and threats by military reservists to stop reporting for duty if it passed.
Protests and threats from reservists didn’t dissuade Netanyahu from moving ahead with the first part of the plan, which was passed into law Monday without any support from the opposition. In an interview Thursday with ABC News, Netanyahu indicated he is prepared to continue unilaterally passing the judicial overhaul if the opposition won’t compromise with the government.
“Now that they can see we’re prepared to move without them—we have the majority—maybe we’ll be able to move with them,” Netanyahu said. He said he would give the opposition until mid-November to work on a compromise.
Israel’s doctors went on strike on Tuesday and authorities forcibly removed protesters from roadways during a night of unrest over a judicial overhaul carried out by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Following two failed rounds of talks, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said he would reject entering negotiations that aren’t serious. “The opposition won’t be part of talks that are just an empty show,” he said Monday.
Israelis have been protesting for nearly 30 weeks against a judicial overhaul plan that seeks to limit the powers of the Supreme Court and hand more control to lawmakers. On Thursday night, tens of thousands of people came out to protest the government’s efforts to remake the judiciary.