He calls on the government to “immediately” stop legislative work on a text that divides the country. Israeli President Isaac Herzog solemnly asked the government on Monday March 27 to withdraw the controversial judicial reform that the government wants to pass in Parliament.
Isaac Herzog made the call on Twitter after thousands protested in Tel Aviv overnight Sunday-Monday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who favored a break in judicial reform. Thousands of demonstrators converged, police said, on Kaplan Street in central Tel Aviv, the epicenter of protests since the reform bill was presented in January.
In Tel Aviv, protesters set fire to tires on Sunday night, police said in a statement. Armed with blue and white flags, demonstrators chanted slogans like “Bibi get out!”, taking up the nickname of Benjamin Netanyahu. Other spontaneous rallies took place in front of the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem as well as in other cities of the country such as Haifa (north) and Beer Sheva (south), according to local media.
A ‘real threat to Israel’s security’
With this reform, the government, one of the most right-wing in the history of Israel, aims to increase the power of elected officials over that of magistrates. But according to its detractors, the project jeopardizes the democratic character of the State of Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies believe it is necessary to restore a balanced balance of power between elected officials and the Supreme Court, which they consider politicized.
Israeli MPs are expected to vote in the coming days on one of the central elements of the reform, at the heart of the concerns of its detractors, foreseeing the change in the process of appointing judges.
On Saturday March 25, Yoav Gallant, yet from the same right-wing party as Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud, said he feared that continued divisions among the population on this issue would create a “real threat to Israel’s security”. and called for a one-month pause in the legislative process.
“Israel’s security has always been and always will be my life’s mission,” Yoav Gallant tweeted on Sunday. “I am attached to the values of Likud […] but major changes at the national level must be made through consultation and dialogue,” the minister said on Saturday, calling at the same time for an end to the demonstrations.
“Benjamin Netanyahu can fire Yoav Gallant, but he can’t fire reality and can’t fire the people of Israel who oppose the madness of the coalition,” opposition leader Yair tweeted. Lapid. “Israel’s prime minister is a threat to Israel’s security,” he added.
He had welcomed the words of Yoav Gallant on Saturday evening, calling them “not courageous […] for the security of Israel.” Two Likud lawmakers also expressed their support for Yoav Gallant on Twitter on Saturday, raising the question of whether the government could count on a majority if it proceeds to a vote.
Washington’s fears
The United States said it was “deeply concerned”, and stressed “the urgent need for a compromise”. “Democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the relationship between the United States and Israel,” warned White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson. “Fundamental changes for a democratic system should be carried out with the broadest possible base of popular support,” she said.
The announcement of Yoav Gallant’s dismissal led to the resignation of Israel’s consul general in New York, Asaf Zamir. The diplomat described on Twitter the dismissal of the Minister of Defense as a “dangerous decision” which “convinced him that (he) could no longer continue to represent this government”.
In a speech broadcast on television Thursday evening, Benjamin Netanyahu, who had hitherto remained in the background on this issue, pledged to “end the division among the people”, while underlining his determination to move forward reform. The next day, he was called to order by the courts, which deemed his public intervention “illegal”, given his ongoing trials for corruption. And on Sunday the Supreme Court gave the prime minister a week to respond to an NGO petition asking that he be punished for “contempt of court” after the speech.
According to the Movement for Quality Government in Israel petition, seen by AFP, Benjamin Netanyahu, indicted in a series of corruption cases, violated a court agreement that an indicted prime minister did not the right to act in an area that could place him in a conflict of interest, according to a 2020 Supreme Court ruling.