https://www.nytimes.

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/israel-judiciary-crisis-explainer.html

The Israeli Government’s Plan to

Overhaul the Judiciary: What to
Know
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing
government contends the Supreme Court has unchecked
power, but critics of the proposal say it goes too far.

By Patrick Kingsley and Isabel Kershner

March 27, 2023

Israel is in the throes of a grave political crisis that has

ballooned in recent days to envelop crucial components of
society: the military, universities and trade unions.

For weeks, protesters have taken to the streets to oppose

the government’s plan to overhaul judicial rules. The
discontent intensified on Sunday after Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu fired a minister who had criticized
the plan for causing turmoil within the military.
Universities shuttered in protest, and union leaders are
hinting of a general strike that threatens to paralyze the
nation. The fallout is also stretching beyond Israel’s
borders, causing unease among investors, influential
American Jews and Israel’s foreign allies, including the
United States.

Here’s what you need to know:

What is the government trying to do?

Mr. Netanyahu’s governing coalition, the most right wing
and religiously conservative in Israel’s history, says the
judiciary has granted itself increased authority over the
years. The government also contends the Supreme Court
is not representative of the diversity of Israeli society.

In its proposed judicial changes, the government is first

trying to change the makeup of a nine-member
committee that selects judges for the court. The proposal
would give representatives and appointees of the
government an automatic majority on the committee,
effectively allowing the government to choose the judges.
The government also wants to curb what it calls the
Supreme Court’s overreach by drastically restricting its
ability to strike down laws that it deems unconstitutional.

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, second

from left, has said the judiciary has granted itself increased
authority over the years. Abir Sultan/EPA, via Shutterstock

Critics say the proposed overhaul would place unchecked

power in the hands of the government of the day, remove
protections afforded to individuals and minorities and
deepen the divisions in an already fractured society. They
also fear that Mr. Netanyahu, who is standing trial on
corruption charges, could use the changes to extricate
himself from his legal troubles.
Why is the country divided?
In broad terms, the schism in Israeli society has divided
people into two groups: those who want a more secular
and pluralist state and those with a more religious and
nationalist vision.

To its critics, the Supreme Court is seen as the last

bastion of the secular, centrist elite descended from
European Jewry who dominated the state during its
earliest decades. Religious Jews, particularly the ultra-
Orthodox, perceive the court as an obstacle to their way
of life.

The court has often opposed certain privileges and

financial subsidies for the ultra-Orthodox. In particular,
the court rejected a special dispensation that allowed
ultra-Orthodox Jews to postpone military service in favor
of religious study, infuriating religious leaders. Right-
wing Israelis who want to entrench Israeli settlement in
the occupied West Bank also see the court as an
antagonist.

Who is protesting?
The opposition has mainly been driven by secular
centrists who fear the overhaul will threaten their
freedoms and way of life. But there is also a growing
resistance and desire for dialogue and compromise from
parts of the religious right who say the government has
pushed too far and too fast.

Israel’s largest trade union, which had previously tried to

stay out of the fray, appeared to be on the verge of calling
for a general strike on Monday, with a speech by its
leader planned for late morning.

The heads of Israel’s leading universities collectively

announced they would indefinitely shut their doors to
protest the plan, starting Monday morning.

But perhaps the most consequential opposition to the

process has come from military reservists, who play a
significant role in Israel’s military capacity.
 Yoav Gallant, who was fired as defense minister on Sunday. Gil
Cohen-Magen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Reservists say they fear being given illegal military

orders if the Supreme Court lacks the power to scrutinize
government activity adequately. And they fear being
charged in international courts if the Israeli justice
system is perceived as being too weak to prosecute
soldiers.

Military leaders have warned that a decline in reservists,

who form a key part of the air force pilot corps, might
soon affect the military’s operational capacity. The
defense minister, Yoav Gallant, called on Saturday for a
halt to the judicial changes; he was fired on Sunday by
Mr. Netanyahu, whose office announced the dismissal in a
one-line statement.

But worries persist among military leaders, who have

privately said they worry that full-time soldiers may also
begin to resign. On Sunday, the military chief of staff,
Herzi Halevi, ordered all commanders to speak with their
subordinates about the need to keep politics out of the
military and maintain cohesion, military officials said.

What happens next?

The government had planned a final vote in Parliament
early this week on the first part of the overhaul, the
ability to pick Supreme Court judges. But after Sunday’s
protests, it is unclear whether Mr. Netanyahu will go
along with the hard-line members of his coalition and
push through a vote. Mr. Netanyahu was said to be
considering a pause in the program, but the hard-line
members proceeded on Monday morning with the
parliamentary measures needed to prepare the bill for a
vote.
 A water cannon being used against protesters on Monday in Tel
Aviv. Oren Ziv/Associated Press

Other key elements of the overhaul are on hold until late

April. They include proposals to curb what the
government views as the Supreme Court’s overreach by
drastically restricting its ability to strike down laws
passed by Parliament and to allow the 120-seat
Parliament to override Supreme Court decisions with a
bare majority of 61.

Patrick Kingsley is the Jerusalem bureau chief, covering Israel and the
occupied territories. He has reported from more than 40 countries,
written two books and previously covered migration and the Middle East
for The Guardian. @PatrickKingsley

Isabel Kershner, a correspondent in Jerusalem, has been reporting on

Israeli and Palestinian politics since 1990. She is the author of “Barrier:
The Seam of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” @IKershner • Facebook