Justice reform in Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu announces a "pause"

Europe 1 with AFP 21:13 p.m., March 27, 2023

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday announced a "pause" in the process of adopting the justice reform under consideration in parliament, and contested in the streets for nearly three months. "When there is a possibility to prevent a civil war through dialogue, as prime minister I pause for dialogue," Netanyahu said in a televised address.

Reaching agreement on legislation in the next session

"I give a real chance to a real dialogue [as a sign] of my will to prevent the division of the people. I have decided to pause [legislative work on reform] during this parliamentary session in order to reach broad agreement on legislation in the next session to open after the Passover holidays (April 5-13). Shortly after this speech, the Histadrut, the major Israeli trade union centre, announced the end of the general strike decreed in the morning with the stated objective of stopping the reform of the judiciary.

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"I welcome [Benjamin Netanyahu's decision]. Better late than never," said Benny Gantz (center-right), one of the main opposition figures, announcing that he was ready to go "immediately" and "with an outstretched hand" to talks under the aegis of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who has so far tried in vain to mediate between supporters and opponents of the reform.

A strong ally of Israel, the United States welcomed the announced pause that "gives more time to find a compromise," said Monday the spokeswoman of the White House. The tension had risen again Sunday after the announcement by Benjamin Netanyahu of the dismissal of his Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, who had publicly spoken the day before for a "pause" in the reform to promote a dialogue with the opposition in order to reach a more consensual text.

Clashes with the police

Thousands of Israelis then spontaneously took to the streets in Tel Aviv, giving rise to clashes with the security forces during the night. After these incidents, President Isaac Herzog, who plays an essentially ceremonial role, called on the government to "immediately stop" the examination of the reform in Parliament. Also on Monday, a crowd, estimated at 80,000 demonstrators according to Israeli media, gathered around the parliament in Jerusalem to protest the reform. In the evening, a counter-demonstration, the first of its kind, was held nearby, in front of the Supreme Court, gathering several thousand people, according to an AFP journalist.

Other protests against reform took place in Tel Aviv and Haifa in northern Israel. "We call on the government to stop this crazy reform," Keren Mimran, 57, a high-tech entrepreneur, told AFP. For Benjamin Netanyahu's government, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, the reform aims, among other things, to rebalance powers by reducing the prerogatives of the Supreme Court, which the executive considers politicized, to the benefit of parliament. Critics of the reform say it risks jeopardizing Israel's democratic principles and fear it paves the way for authoritarian drift.

Flights cancelled due to strike

On Monday, the main employers' organizations distanced themselves from the Histadrut strike call while calling for dialogue and "the immediate halt of the legislative process". But, very rarely, private companies - banks, insurance companies, clothing and restaurant chains - have decided to close. The strike forced Ben-Gurion International Airport to announce the halt of departing flights as tens of thousands of people were expected to leave the country on Monday.

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In advocating for a pause in reform, the defense minister had expressed fears for Israel's security. These fears, according to Yoav Gallant, are linked to the massive participation of army reservists in the protest movement and their commitment not to go to training and not to perform their reserve periods in the event of a vote on judicial reform. The United States said it was "deeply concerned" and stressed "the urgent need for compromise."

In France, where the largest Jewish community lives after Israel and the United States, the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) called on the Israeli government "to suspend reform" in order to "restore calm and dialogue with the whole society as soon as possible." "The Israeli government has suffered a hostile takeover by a messianic, nationalist and anti-democratic group. They will not stop on their own (...) What will stop them is you. Your determination," Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid told protesters.