Israel Weekly News Roundup, Jan. 13. 2023
5 Things you need to know
The Judiciary Reform Process Has Started - A Set of Bills Was Introduced to the Knesset as Part of the Legislative Process: The new plan, by the new minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, includes drastic steps that may change and break the separation of powers. Levin is eager to speed-up the law making process. All former Supreme Court Justices claim that the reform will destroy the checks and balances, that are essential in a democracy. Former Chief Justice, Aharon Barak, a well-known person worldwide, gave interviews to all major media outlets. He warned that the new steps may destroy the fragile relationship between the government and the rule of law. Unfortunately he was brutally attacked by all senior government ministers.
The claim voiced by the minister of justice and other coalition members is that they want to regain governance, since the court, a collection of justices that were not elected by the people cannot decide anything for the government, which are the representatives of the people. They also claim that this is the will of the people who elected them for office, and that this is the democratic game.
The first session in the Knesset to start work on the wording of the bills, was chaotic and was brutally interrupted by members of the opposition. The new bill changes the balance altogether and gives extra power to the politicians over the judicial system in every aspect of the process. If that reform is approved, Israel may no longer be a democracy, and there will no longer be a rule of law, but a rule of the majority.
The major change is the override law, that will enable law makers to override every decision of the court if it is not compatible with their political views.
In response to the proposed legislation Supreme Court President Hayut stated: “The Levin plan is a plan to crush the justice system.”
For the first time since the Minister of Justice presented his plan, the President of the Supreme Court further attacked it: "Anyone who claims that the majority that elected their representatives to the Knesset gave them an 'open check' to do whatever they want, bears the name of democracy in vain." The ombudsman stated : “It [election results] is not equal to uncontrolled and unlimited power”.
In response, Yariv Levin said that Judge Hayut's speech only reinforces the need and urgency of reforming the judicial system.
Social networks are humming with activity regarding the proposed changes . Levin's and Netanyahu's supporters repeat the message that Hayut's speech is political and that she is in fact the chairman of the ‘Supreme Court of Justice political party’, while the opponents to the legislation praise her courage. In any event, it's going to be hard and tough to oppose the proposed changes.
Thousands of People Gathered in the Center of Tel Aviv to Protest Against What They Called a Judiciary Revolution: The streets of Tel Aviv were blocked for traffic while thousands marched in a demonstration against the new government and the drastic steps they announced.
Some of the participants wanted to also raise the notion of a shared society for Jews and Arabs, others thought that this should not be the main topic of the demonstrations, and that the focus should be on the drastic steps by the government against the judicial system.
Right wing politicians attacked the demonstrators because they spotted a Palestinian flag among the thousands of people, and immediately claimed that this was identifying with the enemy and supporting terror.
Senior members of the opposition called on their supporters to go to the streets to protest. Another demonstration is scheduled for Saturday night in Tel Aviv, and some say that the situation is so dire, that we may deteriorate to a civil war. This phrase was used several times, until a MK from the Jewish Power party called on the police to arrest them for treason. Arresting heads of political opposition is something that is common in tyrannies.
Minister of National Security Directs Chief of Police to Arrest Protestors for Road Blocking: tensions are ahead of mass demonstrations against the incoming government’s overhaul clause. Minister Ben Gvir announced that he directed Police Chief Kobi Shabtai to arrest protesters who riot and block roads in demonstrations against the government. Also, the police issued a statement that alert levels are high, as the police anticipates riots and public disturbances during the Saturday night demonstrations.
At a meeting of the Otzma Yehudit faction, Ben Gvir addressed the demonstrations last Saturday in Tel Aviv, saying that his demand from the police is that "road blocking and rioting must be stopped”. Ben Gvir also said that while he supports freedom of expression, the incitement against minister of justice Yariv Levin who is championing the overhaul clause, must stop. He added that the zero-tolerance to road blocking should be applied to all demonstrations, from left and right.
Former IDF chief of staff and former MK Moshe Ya'alon, one of the leaders of the anti-overhaul clause protests, called on Police chief Shabtai on Twitter to "protect" police officers from the orders of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir: "Remember that there are orders that have a black flag flying over them. It is not your fault that they placed a minister over you who is a convicted felon. Protect your policemen from his orders," wrote Ya'alon.
Leaders of the protest movements responded as well, condemning the police’s intentions to portray protestors as law breakers, and reiterated that the right to protest is a core value in a democracy.New Minister of Culture and Sports Threatens to Defund Artistic Creations Criticizing Israel: The incoming Minister of Culture, Miki Zohar, earlier this week ordered the examination of the possibility of retroactively withdrawing funding from the film "Two Kids a Day", a documentary which deals with the detention of minors in the occupied territories, on the grounds that it tarnishes Israel's image. According to a statement published by Zohar, he contacted the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, "and they agreed to deny budgets for films of this type, also retroactively in accordance with the law."
"The Ministry of Culture and Sports under my leadership will not finance works that will harm the good name of the State of Israel in Israel and in the world," said Minister Zohar. "It is not possible for a cinema fund to use taxpayer funds to spread lies against IDF soldiers and the state. Not on my shift." Responding to a question by Ha’aretz journalist, the ministry’s spokesperson said that minister Zohar did not watch the full film but did receive a professional and comprehensive review of the contents and nature of the film from professional sources."
"Two Kids a Day", David Waxman's film, won the research award at the Jerusalem Film Festival in 2022. The judges' reasoning stated that the award was granted "for giving some of the many Palestinian children, who are arrested and imprisoned for throwing stones, the opportunity to reflect on their past actions and their plans for the future”. Director Waxman, commenting on the minister’s statement said: "None of the people commenting on the film, or from those who demonstrated against it, watched it, which is a great shame. Come see the film - and then we'll sit down to talk."
The Legal Advisor of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) Adv. Dan Yakir, sent a letter to the Attorney General Gali Beharav Miara, requesting that she clarify to minister Zohar that his statements on the day he took office, "We will deny budgets to works that promote the narrative of our enemies", and his announcement regarding the film "Two Kids a Day" are not legal.
Government Announces Emergency Plan to Curb Rising Cost of Living as Poverty Rate Increases: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced earlier this week the government’s emergency plan to combat the high cost of living. The emergency plan includes primarily freezing or a price reduction of core utilities, such as fuel and electricity, as well as municipal property taxes. In a livestream session, PM Netanyahu said: “These steps will immediately lower the monthly expenses of every household in Israel”. Netanyahu also said these measures are taken to “put sticks in the wheels of inflation”, which hit 5.3% at the end of 2022.
Politicians from the opposition and economic media specialists said, in response to the emergency plan, that it is a temporary band-aid that will not stop the bleeding, and criticized the new government calling on it to keep its election promises to effectively address the dramatic increase in household expenses, including mortgage rates.
This, while the National Social Security Institute published its annual poverty report, showing a moderate increase in poverty rates. According to the report, 20% of Israelis live under the poverty line, primarily children and elderly people. According to an OECD rating, Israel is the country with the second highest poverty rate, as the OECD average is 12.1%
Further Reading:
Judicial Reforms: Here, here, here, here
Demonstrations: Here, here, here, here
Ben Gvir: Here, here, here, here