Jerusalem, February 21. Israel’s parliament moved forward tonight on approving two bills included in the judicial reform that Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government is promoting, after a large protest yesterday around the hemicycle in which tens of thousands of people protested against the controversial plan.
The two bills were validated in the first instance by 63 votes in favor and 47 against during a tense plenary session, and to be definitively approved they will still have to be voted on in second and third reading, a process which will have to be done at a later date.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the move a “big night and a big day,” while opposition leader Yair Lapid, the centrist, condemned it.
“History will judge them for tonight, for this damage to democracy, economy and security,” Lapid said.
Legislative projects advanced focus on areas that would limit the powers of the judiciary in favor of the government.
One seeks to change the composition of the judicial selection committee so that the government takes control of the body, and the other seeks to restrict the Supreme Court’s ability to review and change laws. This would deprive this highest judicial body of exercising the current jurisdictional control or repealing the fundamental laws, having constitutional status in the country.
These two bills are just two of several regulations that will need to be approved to push through judicial reform for the Netanyahu-led coalition with far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish partners.
According to critics and opponents, the plan would erode the independence of the judiciary and end the separation of powers in Israel, jeopardizing the formal democratic foundations of the state.
Another of the controversial measures the current government is seeking to adopt as part of the reform is the so-called ‘cancellation clause’, which would allow a simple majority of MPs in parliament to overrule Supreme Court rulings. .
Overall, the controversial plan has set off alarm bells among the opposition and led tens of thousands of Israelis to the streets to protest in what is considered the country’s most massive mobilizations in decades. Yesterday there was a massive demonstration which surrounded Parliament, in which those gathered rejected the plan.
During yesterday’s plenary session in the hemicycle, which lasted late into the night, the atmosphere was marked by discussions and tensions between deputies, another element which illustrates the current polarization.
Given the situation, Israeli President Isaac Herzog a few days ago urged the government and opposition to talk to each other to reach a consensus, while opposition leader Yair Lapid called for a two-month suspension of the reform process to negotiate on the reform.
Members of the government promoting the plan have also expressed their intention to negotiate, but there has been no progress on this. ECE
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