“Whoever thinks that the civil war is a limit that we will not reach, has no idea. The abyss is one step away. The civil war is a red line that I will not allow,” said the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, presenting his judicial plan in the face of the unprecedented crisis that his country is going through. Its detailed document aims to stop the fast locomotive led by the government coalition in the Knesset to approve its profound reform of the relationship with the judiciary and avoid a head-on collision with the other train, equally determined, which represents the Supreme Court and is pushed by the opposition and the massive protest demonstrations.
After four television appearances before the nation in which he expressed his concern about what is happening and could happen and endless meetings with politicians, businessmen, academics, lawyers, experts and High Tech entrepreneurs, Herzog proposes a project to replace the one announced in early January by Justice Minister Yariv Levin to weaken the judiciary.
Herzog’s plan reduces the power of the Supreme but guarantees its full independence. It does not give the Government the majority to appoint judges but it takes away the possibility of annulling basic laws. “This plan strengthens Parliament, the Government, the judicial system and maintains Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” he said, admitting that “a complete agreement is not possible but a broad agreement is the right thing to do. The majority want a plan that brings justice and peace”.
The fact that he calls it a “popular plan” indicates that it was not agreed upon by the coalition and opposition to those who are now pressing for its acceptance. In the negotiation with Herzog, Netanyahu gave in on key issues of the plan due to the intensity of the opposition and its negative economic effects, but was vetoed by Levin (Likud) who threatened to resign. “The main clauses of the plan perpetuate the situation and do not bring the necessary balance between the authorities,” Netanyahu reacted while other ministers were more critical of Herzog’s proposal. Opposition chief Yair Lapid praised the president and called on the coalition to stop “radical legislation.”
Despite the massive protests in the streets, essential parts of the government plan have been approved at first reading (in the absence of the final second and third): the amendment that gives the coalition a majority in the selection of judges, the one that removes the Supreme the possibility of knocking down basic laws and the “annulment clause” that allows the Knesset to annul decisions of the highest judicial instance with the vote of 61 of its 120 deputies.
What for the ultra-conservative coalition, which came out of the polls on November 1, is a necessity that corrects the excessive interventionism of the Supreme Court and legal advisers in the decisions of the leaders, for the opposition and even Herzog himself is a blow to basic principles of democracy.
Netanyahu left for Germany tonight to the echo of the resounding words of the president of the Central Bank, Amir Yaron. In an interview on CNN, Yaron warned of “immense repercussions” if the judicial plan is completed and denounced that “the process is rushed and does not have broad support from society.” This economist, signed by Netanyahu in 2018, warned of the possible flight of capital and brains.
Herzog’s fear not only refers to the economic field and the constitutional clash (inevitable if the Supreme Court annuls Levin’s laws) but also to the chaos and division in the country.
New protest demonstrations and roadblocks are planned this Thursday in a country that, as the Army admits, in the eyes of its enemies such as Iran, the Palestinian armed factions and the Lebanese group Hezbollah is going through moments of great weakness.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
