Have the Judicial Reform Protests in Israel Crossed the Line?
By: David Parsons, ICEJ Vice President & Senior Spokesman
The heated dispute in Israel over judicial reforms reached fever pitch this week when a group of IAF pilots announced they would refuse to show up for reserve duty and were quickly backed by every former Israeli air force chief still living today. Given the importance of the Israeli army and especially the air force to Israel’s defense, such protests could seriously hamper the IDF’s capabilities right when Iran is poised to cross the nuclear threshold.
As I suggested back when the new government assumed power last December and made judicial reform its top priority, this bitter battle has quickly made everyone long for the ‘good old days’ of political deadlock and indecisive elections. And now it is even threatening to ruin Israel’s 75th anniversary celebrations.
THE ROILING dispute centers around the Right’s sense that for three decades now Israel’s self-appointed liberal judiciary has over-reached in usurping power over the elected Knesset and government, and the Left’s sense that the government’s package of judicial reforms now being rushed into law are an over-reach in the other direction.
The debate has an added emotional edge due to the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who previously opposed many of these proposed reforms, is rushing ahead to pass them, giving even some on the Right an uneasy feeling it may be to help him gain a personal advantage in his ongoing corruption trials.
No doubt, both sides are playing a game of brinksmanship right now. Even though there is no urgency, Netanyahu’s coalition is trying to push the bills to a final reading and vote before the Knesset takes its Passover break in early April.
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