Israel
Israelis demonstrate once more once morest judicial reform
This Saturday’s demonstration comes following the adoption by Parliament at first reading on Tuesday of two key provisions of judicial reform.
Published
“Democracy, democracy!” or “We will not give up,” chanted the demonstrators on Saturday in the center of Tel Aviv, amid a cloud of Israeli flags.
AFP
For the eighth consecutive week, several thousand Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to protest once morest the very controversial reform of the judicial system wanted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and which they consider to be an attack on democracy.
This new event comes following the adoption by Parliament at first reading on Tuesday of two key provisions of the reform. The first changes the process for appointing judges and the second aims to prevent the Supreme Court from invalidating any new fundamental law passed by Parliament.
Another contested provision of the bill is the introduction of an “override” clause allowing Parliament to overrule certain Supreme Court decisions by a simple majority.
“A Fascist Country”
“Democracy, democracy!” or “We will not give up,” chanted the demonstrators in the center of Tel Aviv, amid a cloud of Israeli flags. “We are fighting for our country, for democracy, for equal rights,” Ronit Peled, from Hod Hasharon, north of the Israeli metropolis, told AFP.
“Someone has to rein in the government, they’re going to control our lives. We are frightened at the idea of becoming a fascist country,” said the 68-year-old retiree who affixed a sticker on her sweater that reads “Attached to the Constitution”.
The reform project was announced in early January by the government, formed in December by Benjamin Netanyahu with far-right parties and ultra-Orthodox Jewish formations. According to its detractors, the text, by aiming to reduce the influence of the judiciary in favor of political power, threatens the democratic character of the State of Israel.
UN concerns
But Benjamin Netanyahu and his Minister of Justice Yariv Levin consider it necessary to restore a balance of power between elected officials and the Supreme Court, which the Prime Minister and his allies consider politicized. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on Tuesday called on Israel to suspend its reform, worried regarding its consequences in terms of human rights and the independence of justice.
The demonstrations, which generally denounce the policy of the government, do not seem for the moment to influence the determination of Benjamin Netanyahu and his majority. The opposition, including its centrist leader Yair Lapid, has repeatedly accused Benjamin Netanyahu of wanting to serve his personal interests with this reform.
Benjamin Netanyahu being himself tried for corruption in several cases, his critics believe that in the event of adoption of the reform, he might use it to break a possible judgment coming to condemn him.
(AFP)
