Tel Aviv Israeli President Isaac Herzog warns of a “constitutional and social collapse” in the country. In an emotional television speech on Sunday, he called on both the coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition to resolve the conflict over judicial reform through dialogue, and to do so as quickly as possible.
Millions of Israelis and a large number of Jews in the diaspora see the proposed judicial reform as a real threat to Israeli democracy and a danger to the separation of powers, Herzog explained. The justice minister is now ready for dialogue and has invited opposition leader Jair Lapid to a joint meeting with the president. In parliament, however, the government pushed ahead with its controversial judicial reform so quickly on Monday that critics spoke of a “coup”.
Perhaps the most important change is the so-called overriding clause. It empowers Parliament to overrule Supreme Court decisions by a simple majority. In addition, politicians should decide on the appointment of judges.
Opponents of reform believe that control mechanisms should be switched off in this way. The Supreme Court would be transformed from an independent body into a “pseudo-political body,” and the proposed change in how judges are appointed would result in decisions by the judiciary always favoring the government, they fear.
Netanyahu and his coalition, on the other hand, argue that the judiciary currently has too much power and must therefore be kept in check: the reform corrects what needs to be corrected. Netanyahu, who has placed reform at the center of his domestic political agenda, said the rights of the individual would be “fully” protected.
President Herzog warns of collapse of the country
The 63-year-old Duke is convinced that it is possible to achieve a broad consensus that puts the citizens of Israel above all political controversies. However, his office is primarily symbolic in nature, and Herzog has no executive powers.
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Still, a month ago, Herzog alarmed the nation, warning that judicial reform would give the cabinet more leverage over the country’s top court. In order to defuse the social crisis through the reform and to initiate a dialogue, he met with representatives of the government, the opposition, the Knesset, the judiciary and civil movements, always looking for a compromise.
“We are in a deep conflict that is tearing our country apart,” he repeated his warning on Sunday, hours before the Knesset Judiciary Commission began debate on the reform.
Fears investment decline
On Monday, tens of thousands of citizens demonstrated against the coalition’s plans in front of Parliament and across the country. Also present was Erel Margalit, chairman of venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners. He led a march of high-tech executives and start-up entrepreneurs to join the mass protest in front of the Knesset, which drew citizens from across the country. “We are at a dramatic moment in the history of Israel where all of us who are pro-democracy activists in high-tech industries and across Israel need to stand up and say ‘No!’ to this government,” said Margalit, the as Herzog used to stand up for the Labor Party.
Israeli society is deeply divided.
(Photo: dpa)
The dispute over judicial reform reflects the ideological and social divides within Israel. Like Herzog, whose father was also president, people in the technology sector come mostly from Israel’s middle class, which is predominantly secular. The supporters of Netanyahu’s coalition are predominantly religious.
The changes in the Israeli legal system could potentially lead to a drop in investment in Israel, both in the capital markets and in direct investment, entrepreneurs warn. This could contribute to a weakening of the national currency, the shekel.
While Netanyahu initially dismissed the criticism from business as a political maneuver by his opponents to prevent reform, he now takes the warning voices seriously. So he tried to convince international rating agencies that the reform would not hurt the economy and there was no reason to downgrade Israel or withdraw investments.
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Netanyahu also sent his close confidante Ron Dermer to the United States last week. The former ambassador in Washington is there to convince banks and investors that Israel’s economy will continue to grow and be lucrative for investors. Gross domestic product rose by six percent last year.
Netanyahu’s critics suspect the prime minister’s personal motives behind the judicial reform. It is an attempt to avoid a conviction for corruption or to drop the ongoing case against him altogether by weakening the Supreme Court beyond its power. The only thing that is certain at the moment is that Netanyahu has been claiming for years that the judiciary is unfair to him.
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