The fuse was lit in Israel and the country exploded.
The streets of major cities have seen some of the largest protests in the history of this country.
More than 600,000 people shouting "democracy" and waving Israeli flags took to the streets
in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and other cities to protest against the government.
Or rather, against Benjamin Netanyahu, King Bibi himself.
The protests began in February 2023 with the announcement of a wide-ranging judicial reform
and gradually became more and more intense until the end of March when the whole thing blew up.
On Thursday 23 March the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, passed a law shielding Netanyahu's
power from judicial action. A law that explicitly prevents the Supreme Court from
ordering the suspension of a prime minister from office, establishing that only a three-quarter
supermajority of the parliament can force the suspension or removal of the prime minister.
This Law, added to the great general discontent over a highly controversial and absolutely
critical judicial reform, has been something like the final straw in the Jewish State.
Freeway blockades, police charging with water cannons, a siege on Netanyahu's private
residence in Jerusalem, and a huge strike that paralyzed the main ports
and the country's largest airport, as well as embassies and consulates.
Although the protests have so far been mainly peaceful and very orderly, at times everything
seemed to indicate that Israel was on the verge of a much more serious social outburst.
An explosion that even at the time of making this video cannot be entirely ruled out. And no, we are
hardly the only ones who think so. Take a look. (Ex-IAF chief: Netanyahu 'declared
civil war' – The Times of Israel) Yes, it may be an exaggeration to talk
in terms of civil war, but the truth is that the ideological and religious division, along with the
dissatisfaction with the current politicians that a large proportion of the country is experiencing,
has now been compounded by the apparently more authoritarian version of Netanyhau.
For many, King Bibi seems to want to become God Bibi.
Now, why is it that a prime minister who has led the Jewish State for most of this century,
and who has achieved enormous economic and social successes for his country,
suddenly seems to have fallen from grace?
We already told you in a past video here on VisualPolitik that this time, King Bibi,
the architect of modern Israel might be crossing many red lines.
One of them was, precisely, the formation of a government with religious fanatics and also
with some of the most nationalistic, radical and dangerous factions of Israeli politics:
we are talking, of course, about those who are known as the religious zionists.
In fact, he has even placed Itamar Ben-Gvir as Minister of National Security, a guy that
the army refused to let do his military service because he was part of the fascist Kach party,
a group that – get ready for it – was designated by the State of Israel itself as a terrorist
organization and outlawed in 1994. Things started badly and now
seem to be going from bad to worse. His critics claim that Netanyahu wants to go
too far and use his position of power in the State for his own personal benefit... In particular,
they accuse him of wanting to turn the State into a kind of personal country estate by reforming the
justice system in order to prevent new legal proceedings from being brought against him.
Remember that Netanyahu is or has been immersed in several judicial investigations related to alleged
corruption schemes. Specifically, we are talking about four cases known as case 1000, case 2000,
case 3000 and case 4000 respectively. In case 3000, centered on the alleged
irregular purchase of German submarines, he was acquitted. But the other three are still being
tried... And they are also being tried with some controversy, basically because they seem endless.
(10 February 2023: Three Years In, Netanyahu's Trial Has No End in Sight
Some jurists say the judges in the Netanyahu cases are allowing the
proceedings to drag on too long – Haaretz) In fact, according to Netanyahu's own point
of view as well as that of numerous jurists in his entourage, the judges are deliberately
dragging out the judicial process in order to harm him, so that the shadow of corruption
will continue to fall over him. But beyond possible speculation,
the fact is that if it was already controversial that he regained power by allying himself with
the Religious Zionist Party, a coalition of extreme right-wing orthodox parties with racist,
homophobic and even warmongering overtones, the judicial reform seems to have been the final
straw. The move that has caused a large part of Israeli society to lose their patience.
We are talking about a reform that basically seeks to shield the prime minister in his
position and allow the government to control the justice system directly.
And when we say control, we are not talking about maneuvering in a dodgy
way to place a few like-minded judges here and there who, at any given moment,
can rescue the government from its troubles. No. We are talking about a much, much broader control
that many believe could put the only liberal democracy in the Middle East truly on the ropes.
(Netanyahu finally went too far – VOX) (Benjamin Netanyahu reforms trigger backlash
in US from ardent Israel supporters. – FT) ("The reform is necessary and we will carry
it out – but not at the price of civil war." – Nir Barkat,
Minister of Economy of the State of Israel) On the table is a reform that would make the
controversial judicial changes of Orban in Hungary or PiS in Poland look like
a kid’s game. Like total amateurs in the dubious art of wanting a hand in justice.
But what exactly is it that has mobilized so many Israelis against these changes? What
exactly is the reform that Netanyahu wants to pass sooner or later? Why was it only
at the end of March when the protests in the streets against the government intensified?
Well, we are going to tell you all these things and more in this video, so pay close attention.
(THE REFORM OF DISCORD)
There is something that everyone in Israel knew, but perhaps not so many
people thought it would be so blatant. Yes, it was known that behind Netanyahu's
drive to return to power was the pursuit of certain personal benefits. But few would
have imagined that within a few months of returning to power and hand-in-hand with
some of the most radical parties in Israel's political history, Bibi would go this far.
And, VisualPolitik fans, the truth is that the reform, promoted directly by the Minister of
Justice, Yariv Levin, of Likud, Netanyahu's party, but also supported and promoted by his
radical government partners, would allow the Israeli executive to control the judiciary
almost completely. But... let's take
a look at what exactly is at stake. Well, on the one hand, the idea behind the
reform is that the decisions of the Supreme Court are strictly subordinated to the political power.
For example, the proposed reform increases the requirements necessary to declare laws
illegal and annul laws already approved. But of course that is not the worst of it.
If the Supreme Court still succeeds in invalidating a law as illegal,
the Knesset, the parliament, could overturn that decision with only a
simple majority of 61 votes out of a total of 120. That is to say, the decisions of the high court
could be easily reversed by the political power if they clash with its interests. Evidently,
this would give the parliamentary majority practically unlimited power.
But if this already looks barbaric, you haven't seen anything yet.
The bill also proposes to take away the authority of the Supreme Court to review
the legality of Israel's Basic Laws. We are talking about laws that function as
a kind of Constitution in installments. Because Israel does not have a written
Constitution as in most countries in the world, instead the State is governed by a group of
Basic Laws that are approved or reformed. Evidently this would make it so that the political
parties in power could place almost anything or any outrageous legal proposition at the top
of the Israeli legal system and there would be virtually nothing the Supreme Court could do.
But no, that's not even the end of it. There is still more.
Obviously any good judicial reform to control the courts would not be complete without also
trying to control the judges. And no, the bill does not forget this point either.
The reform also proposes changes in the way judges are elected.
Specifically, it was intended to change the power held by the Judicial Selection Committee, which is
the body that appoints judges to Israeli courts. Currently this committee is made up of a motley
mix of government members, politicians, judges and jurists designed to ensure
that no one of the three groups ever has a majority when it comes to making a choice.
The purpose of the reform is precisely to eliminate two representatives of the
Israel Bar Association so that the members of the Judicial Selection Committee representing
the government or the government coalition will have 5 out of 9 votes.
In this way, control over the appointment of judges throughout the country would effectively
be in the hands of the government. Don't say they didn't think it through.
And it's not just about judges. The idea of politicizing the system reaches all levels,
including the legal advisors. The body of government legal advisors in Israel
today is made up of more or less independent professionals who report to the Attorney General.
Their decisions are to some extent binding. In other words,
in order to move forward with policy changes the government has to have the approval of
the legal advisors. It has to know that what it is doing can be considered legal.
Well, with the reform, that would not be the case either. These legal advisors,
these State lawyers, could be hired and fired by politicians and their criteria would be
no more than mere non-binding recommendations. In other words, the government could go ahead with
actions even when informed that they are illegal. You can see that they have thought of everything.
VisualPolitik viewers, these are some of the most serious postulates of the judicial reform
led by Bibi. Surely now you will understand much better the enormous indignation it has
aroused both inside and outside the country. ("We love Israel but we're not going to watch
as Israel's democratic foundations are weakened, if not undermined [...] We can't imagine a Jewish
State that isn't democratic and yet there are people who can." – Rabbi Rick Jacobs,
president of the Union for Reform Judaism) For now the protests have caused Bibi to
temporarily freeze this bill. Something which, by the way, has cost him having to accept that
the extremist Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir has been able to form his own
praetorian guard. That means, doubling the national guard to 1,800 troops and placing
it directly under the control of this minister. (To okay overhaul delay, Ben Gvir gets promise
for 'national guard' under his control [...] Critics slam move as handing Ben Gvir private
militia. – Times of Israel) Now, the question is,
what is Bibi really looking for with all this? Well, evidently the judicial reform bill directly
seeks to weaken the Supreme Court and allow the prime minister to be able to pressure judges to
freeze or even cancel their corruption trials. And, of course, all this, as you can well imagine,
is having consequences, not only in the streets but also at the political level.
For example, Yoav Gallant, as Defense Minister, spoke out against the reform
pushed by his own party colleague, Netanyahu. ("Clothed in the IDF's uniform, I have risked
my life dozens of times for the State of Israel, and at this time, for the sake of our country,
I am willing to take any risk and pay any price. [...] I declare loudly and publicly,
for the sake of Israel's security, for the sake of our sons and daughters – the
legislative process should be stopped." – Yoav Gallant, Defense Minister of Israel)
This is how the Minister of Defense called for a halt to the process of approving
the judicial reform shortly before he was abruptly dismissed by Netanyahu.
And all this at a time when the country is going through very tense weeks in terms of
security because of the apparent progress Iran is making in the development of its nuclear
program. No matter, reform above all else. Nevertheless, at the time of making this video,
the dismissal has not yet taken effect and he is still in office.
A dismissal that, to top it all, has been encouraged by, once again,
the ultra-right orthodox government partner Itamar Ben-Gvir, who literally asked for
Gallant to be thrown out of the government. Indeed, for Ben-Gvir's party, which is a staunch
advocate for increasing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Netanyahu's proposed judicial reform
could also mean giving them a free hand for their political ambitions in Palestinian territory.
For example, it would be much easier to establish new settlements since the court
that would have to decide on their illegality would have no real power to stop them.
And although Netanyahu has postponed his judicial reform in order to
restore calm on the streets... (Netanyahu suspends judicial reform:
I will not lead Israel to civil war. – JP) …He has also said that sooner or later he
will go ahead with the reform. And he will do so for two rather questionable reasons:
His own benefit, and pressures from his extremist allies in the government, who, it seems,
would be willing to send Bibi himself back on the dole if this measure does not go ahead.
You know, everything for the sake of power. But for now the questions are over to you:
What do you think of the reform proposed by the Israeli government? Do you think
this will be the definitive end of Netanyahu's career? Leave us your
opinions in the comments and let's open a debate. And now if you found this video interesting,
don't forget to like and subscribe to VisualPolitik if you haven't already done so.
Thank you very much for being there, All the best and see you next time.