New Israeli government faces ‘constitutional crisis’ over judicial reforms

By: David Parsons, ICEJ Vice President & Senior Spokesman

Since taking office in late December, the new Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been running into a growing protest movement against its proposed judicial reforms that is shaking Israel’s democratic foundations. The heated dispute is quickly making the nation’s three recent years of political deadlock almost seem like ‘the good old days’.

Netanyahu’s new government has been passing a flurry of legislation to solidify its position, with a particular goal of reining in the Israeli courts. Many on the Right feel the more liberal judiciary has gone too far in its expansive review and reversal of numerous laws and government decisions over recent years. Thus, the new Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin of Likud, announced a sweeping series of judicial reforms which the coalition intends to pass in coming weeks, including a measure banning unelected judges from nullifying laws passed by the elected members of parliament. Even the way judges are selected is set for major changes.

This has triggered panic on the Left, which is warning these reforms will destroy Israel’s democracy by crippling its most principled and widely respected branch of government. They are vowing to launch a nationwide uprising that will dwarf the bitter ‘black flag’ protests against Netanyahu of recent years – a threat which the Right is labelling an ‘insurrection’ and attempted ‘coup d’état ’.