Bethan McKernan
The Guardian / June 30, 2023
Israeli PM says he has thrown out controversial measure to allow parliament to override supreme court decisions.
A surprise announcement from Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that one of the most controversial elements of his government’s proposed judicial overhaul will be dropped, has angered his coalition partners and failed to placate protesters opposed to the plans.
“The idea of an override clause, where the parliament, the Knesset, can override the decisions of the supreme court with a simple majority, I said, I threw that out … It’s out,” Netanyahu said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Thursday.
Another contested element giving politicians more control over the appointment of judges, would be revised, he said. The prime minister went on to say he was “attentive to the public pulse, and to what I think will pass muster”, and that he intended to find common ground with opponents of the plan.
Netanyahu’s coalition of rightwing and ultra-Orthodox parties introduced a package of sweeping judicial changes shortly after he returned to office in December. The legislation is aimed at curbing the influence of the country’s supreme court, which the Israeli right has long alleged is biased and too powerful.
Critics say the changes will erase democratic norms and aid Netanyahu’s fight against graft charges, which he denies.
The prime minister was forced to announce a freeze to the legislation after Israel’s largest-ever protest movement culminated in wildcat strikes that brought the country to a standstill in March. The issue has rumbled on, with compromise talks with opposition parties brokered by the figurehead president, Isaac Herzog, yielding little progress. Demonstrators have continued to hold weekly protests around the country on Saturday nights.
The six-month-old crisis has also damaged Israel’s economy and led crucial allies, such as the US, to raise concerns over the country’s democratic health.
In response to Tuesday’s interview, the centre-right former justice minister Gideon Saar told Army Radio that the protest movement would continue to fight against the overhaul. “This is part of a series of measures that are all in the same direction. They come to restrict judicial review, the legal advisers … You can deliver 20 small hits of the hammer, but at the end of the day the question is the cumulative impact in influencing the court’s power.”
The news also led to critical comments from Netanyahu’s coalition partners, including the rightwing extremist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who tweeted that the prime minister was “surrendering” to civil unrest in a “victory for violence and a loss for Israel”.
Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox allies, who support the override clause as a way to block the supreme court from forcing Yeshiva students to do military service, were also displeased with his comments.
The three-time prime minister was also questioned on foreign policy in the interview, in which he reiterated that Israel would not join western efforts to arm Ukraine. Moscow facilitates Israeli airstrikes against pro-Iranian targets in Syria, leaving the Israeli leadership struggling to balance good relations with Russia and the US since the war in Ukraine began.
Also this week, Netanyahu announced he would undertake a state visit to China, a development that comes after a trip to Beijing earlier this month by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, and in the pointed absence to date of an invitation to the Biden White House.
Bethan McKernan is Jerusalem correspondent for The Guardian
