Justice reform: Despite attacks, Israelis protest by the tens of thousands

Protest against justice reform in Tel Aviv, April 8, 2023. AFP - GIL COHEN-MAGEN

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Despite the tense situation in Israel, protests against judicial reform continue for the 14th consecutive week. Tens of thousands of them were still waving the Israeli flag in the streets on Saturday in the name of democracy.

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Heads down, looking at the ground. It is in silence, to pay tribute to the three victims killed the day before, that the demonstration begins this Saturday. "When I think it could have happened to me, or that it could happen again, it's scary," Noah, a 33-year-old Tel Aviv resident, told our correspondent, Sharon Aronowicz. On Friday, an attack in the Israeli capital left one dead, an Italian tourist, and seven wounded, while that same morning, two sisters lost their lives in a shooting in the northern occupied West Bank. Palestinian Islamic Jihad said the attack "was a natural response to the occupation's crimes against the Palestinian people."

But despite the tense situation in the country, tens of thousands continue protests against judicial reform. For Itamar, the attacks are one more reason to take to the streets. "At first, I was hesitant to come after yesterday's attack, but I realized that if there are attacks, it is because of our government, because of the dismissal of the Minister of Defense. Our enemies have understood that our country is unstable and that this is the time to attack, for me, it is the fault of the government," he said.

« Let my people go »

Itzik, 50, says reform is even more dangerous than the attacks. "I'm not worried. We are the most powerful in the region and we will remain so, but if our country becomes a dictatorship, then it's over, our army will collapse, our economy too," he said.

On the placards, the same message is repeated: "Let my people go." A slogan that refers to Moses, in the middle of Passover, which commemorates the exit from Egypt. But this time, it is not the pharaoh that the protesters are addressing, but their Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He announced on March 27 a legislative "pause" to give a "chance [...] dialogue", after an intensification of protest, the beginning of a general strike and the appearance of tensions within the majority. But the mobilization against the reform remains strong. According to organizers, about 260,000 people attended.

What does this reform of justice contain?

With this bill, the government wants to review the powers of the Supreme Court. Thus, he wants to include an "override" clause that would allow Parliament, with a simple majority vote, to overturn a Supreme Court decision.

The reform also proposes to remove lawyers from the panel that appoints Supreme Court justices. Today, it is composed of a group of judges, deputies and lawyers from the Bar, under the supervision of the Minister of Justice.

The government also wants to prevent judges from invoking the "reasonableness" of certain policy decisions. A desire motivated by the decision of January 18 of the Court to invalidate the appointment of Arié Dery as Minister of the Interior and Health because of a conviction for tax fraud. The Supreme Court had deemed this appointment not "reasonable", thus pushing the Prime Minister to remove the minister from office.

And finally, the government wants to reduce the influence of legal advisers in ministries because their recommendations are used by Supreme Court judges when they rule on the good conduct of government. The Minister of Justice therefore wants them to be clearly considered as non-binding opinions.

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• Israel
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