Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government yesterday advanced a plan to overhaul the country’s legal system, defying protests among Israelis and calls for restraint from the US.
The 63-47 vote marked preliminary approval for the plan, which would give Netanyahu’s coalition more power over who becomes a judge.
Netanyahu’s allies say these changes are needed to rein in the powers of an unelected judiciary.
Photo: Bloomberg
Critics say that judges would be appointed based on their loyalty to the government or prime minister — and say that Netanyahu, who faces trial on corruption charges, has a conflict of interest in the legislation.
The legislators cast their votes after a debate that dragged on past midnight.
During the session, opposition lawmakers chanted, “shame,” and wrapped themselves in the Israeli flag, with some ejected from the hall.
Thousands were rallying outside the Knesset, waving Israeli flags and holding signs reading “saving democracy.”
Earlier in the day, protesters launched a sit-down demonstration at the entrance of the homes of some coalition lawmakers and briefly halted traffic on Tel Aviv’s main highway.
Netanyahu accused the demonstrators of violence and said they were ignoring the will of the people who voted his coalition into power in November last year.
“The people exercised their right to vote in the elections and the people’s representatives will exercise their right to vote here in Israel’s Knesset. It’s called democracy,” Netanyahu said, although he left the door open for dialogue on the planned changes.
The vote on part of the legislation is just the first of three readings required for parliamentary approval, a process that is expected to take months.
Nonetheless, the opposition, including tens of thousands of protesters in front of the Knesset in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv, saw Monday’s vote as the coalition’s determination to barrel ahead.
“We are fighting for our children’s future, for our country’s future. We don’t intend to give up,” opposition leader Yair Lapid said.
Lapid has urged the government to freeze the legislation and seek a compromise with the opposition.
Leaders in the booming tech sector have warned that weakening the judiciary could drive away investors.
The overhaul has prompted former security chiefs to speak out and even warn of civil war. The plan has even sparked rare warnings from the US.
US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides told a podcast over the weekend that Israel should “pump the brakes” on the legislation and seek a consensus on reform that would protect Israel’s democratic institutions.
Netanyahu allies told Nides to stay out of Israel’s internal affairs.
The debate raged on Monday from the floor of the Knesset to flag-waving demonstrations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Simcha Rothman, a lawmaker leading the legislative initiative, presented the proposal to the parliament.
Overhead in the viewing gallery, a spectator banged on the protective glass and was taken away by guards.
Last week, about 100,000 people demonstrated outside the Knesset as a committee granted initial approval to the plan.
On Monday, the crowds returned, waved Israeli flags and blew horns.
“All the steps that are going to take place now in the Knesset will change us to a pure dictatorship,” said Itan Gur Aryeh, a 74-year-old retiree. “All the power will be with the government, with the head of the government and we’ll all be without rights.”
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