JERUSALEM: A new political camp putting the rule of law above traditional divisions is emerging in Israel‘s protest movement, which has united an array of opponents to the government’s judicial reform.
It has drawn support from both the left and the right, secular and religious groups, peace activists and military reservists, blue-collar and hi-tech workers.
Israel’s traditionally deep societal divisions have been shaken up since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s new hard-right government launched its controversial plan to overhaul the justice system.
And even though the veteran leader pushed the pause button on the plan last week, in the face of new protests and a general strike, opponents are sceptical this was anything more than a stalling tactic.
Netanyahu‘s government, which took office in December and includes extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, argues that the sweeping reforms are needed to rebalance power between the government and judiciary.
Its critics charge that weakening the Supreme Court will destroy the checks and balances that are designed to keep politicians accountable and are crucial to a healthy liberal democracy.
The months-long protests have also included feminist and LGBTQ rights activists who are fearful of how hardline religious groups seek to reshape Israeli society.
“It’s the first time that there’s really a mass movement that can gather communities that until now had nothing in common: people from the left and from the moderate right, secular and religious critics, Jews and Arabs,” said Eva Illouz, a sociologist at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University.
“A lot of people don’t want to live in a country that denies in an explicit way — declared and legal — the rights of minorities,” she said
Only Mideast democracy
Israeli officials often praise the country founded in 1948 as the “only democracy in the Middle East”.
But critics inside and outside the country point at the discrimination suffered by the Arab minority, around 20 percent of the population, and the decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories.
While some Jewish Israelis at the rallies have also protested against the occupation, they have been joined by relatively few Arab Israelis.
Although the largest rallies have been held in the leftist bastion of Tel Aviv, where tens of thousands have hit the streets, demonstrations have also been held by the moderate right elsewhere.
Even within Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, dissenting voices are starting to be heard as the demonstrations have grown ever larger.
Illouz said the protest movement is also “a revolt of the secular against the religious, even if… it remains unsaid”.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews, who account for more than 10 percent of the population, are exempt from military service.
Many men from the community dedicate their time to religious studies and do not work, while relying on state subsidies and tax exemptions to support their typically large families.
The situation has been defended by Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox partners, but has created resentment among a large part of the Israeli public who accuse the religious community of living at their expense.
Fears about economy
Netanyahu has suspended the process of pushing through the reforms while parliament is in holiday recess, and signalled dialogue with the opposition in efforts to resolve the crisis, but the demonstrations have continued apace.
Amid Israel’s deep political turmoil, fears have also grown over the economy, with the shekel tumbling against the dollar this year, deepening a cost-of-living crisis.
Only 29 percent of respondents said they were pleased with the way the judicial reform was being pushed forward, in a poll published by the Yediot Aharonot newspaper last week.
Amir Fuchs, a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute think tank, said the protest movement reflects a broad societal consensus against the government’s proposals, which he said many regard as “radical and populist”.
“The dividing line between right-left and religious-secular is present,” he said. “But a number of voters (who are) on the right and/or religious and who have voted for the current government are hostile to the reform in its current form.
“For them, democracy is not only the government of the majority, but also the defence of minorities, human rights and the independence of the judiciary.”
It has drawn support from both the left and the right, secular and religious groups, peace activists and military reservists, blue-collar and hi-tech workers.
Israel’s traditionally deep societal divisions have been shaken up since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s new hard-right government launched its controversial plan to overhaul the justice system.
And even though the veteran leader pushed the pause button on the plan last week, in the face of new protests and a general strike, opponents are sceptical this was anything more than a stalling tactic.
Netanyahu‘s government, which took office in December and includes extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, argues that the sweeping reforms are needed to rebalance power between the government and judiciary.
Its critics charge that weakening the Supreme Court will destroy the checks and balances that are designed to keep politicians accountable and are crucial to a healthy liberal democracy.
The months-long protests have also included feminist and LGBTQ rights activists who are fearful of how hardline religious groups seek to reshape Israeli society.
“It’s the first time that there’s really a mass movement that can gather communities that until now had nothing in common: people from the left and from the moderate right, secular and religious critics, Jews and Arabs,” said Eva Illouz, a sociologist at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University.
“A lot of people don’t want to live in a country that denies in an explicit way — declared and legal — the rights of minorities,” she said
Only Mideast democracy
Israeli officials often praise the country founded in 1948 as the “only democracy in the Middle East”.
But critics inside and outside the country point at the discrimination suffered by the Arab minority, around 20 percent of the population, and the decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories.
While some Jewish Israelis at the rallies have also protested against the occupation, they have been joined by relatively few Arab Israelis.
Although the largest rallies have been held in the leftist bastion of Tel Aviv, where tens of thousands have hit the streets, demonstrations have also been held by the moderate right elsewhere.
Even within Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, dissenting voices are starting to be heard as the demonstrations have grown ever larger.
Illouz said the protest movement is also “a revolt of the secular against the religious, even if… it remains unsaid”.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews, who account for more than 10 percent of the population, are exempt from military service.
Many men from the community dedicate their time to religious studies and do not work, while relying on state subsidies and tax exemptions to support their typically large families.
The situation has been defended by Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox partners, but has created resentment among a large part of the Israeli public who accuse the religious community of living at their expense.
Fears about economy
Netanyahu has suspended the process of pushing through the reforms while parliament is in holiday recess, and signalled dialogue with the opposition in efforts to resolve the crisis, but the demonstrations have continued apace.
Amid Israel’s deep political turmoil, fears have also grown over the economy, with the shekel tumbling against the dollar this year, deepening a cost-of-living crisis.
Only 29 percent of respondents said they were pleased with the way the judicial reform was being pushed forward, in a poll published by the Yediot Aharonot newspaper last week.
Amir Fuchs, a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute think tank, said the protest movement reflects a broad societal consensus against the government’s proposals, which he said many regard as “radical and populist”.
“The dividing line between right-left and religious-secular is present,” he said. “But a number of voters (who are) on the right and/or religious and who have voted for the current government are hostile to the reform in its current form.
“For them, democracy is not only the government of the majority, but also the defence of minorities, human rights and the independence of the judiciary.”