Israel

Israel faces its most serious political crisis in its 75-year history.

The coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has passed legislation that will allow the Knesset (parliament) to circumvent Supreme Court rulings and, in effect, provide the parliament with absolute power.

Whether democracy can survive is a question on the minds of many inside and outside of the country.

In the months leading up to the vote tens of thousands of Israelis have protested daily against this attack on the checks and balances essential for a democracy to survive and a government to be held accountable.

What’s behind the worry is that feeling among many that the current Israeli coalition appears to be a dog being wagged by the tail – the tail of far right-wing religious and secular parties backing a leader who seeks power seemingly at any cost.

Tens of thousands of military reservists have vowed to refuse to serve under such legislation. This is a blow to a nation that depends on its military and the unity of its armed forces to survive in a hostile region and as an occupying power in the Palestinian territories. 

Israel’s Defense Forces’ Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said that “If ours is not a strong and unified army, and if the best do not serve in the IDF, we will not be able to continue to exist as a state in the region,” he said.

Mr. Netanyahu’s actions appear to aim at precluding any two-state solution by de facto annexing the territories and allowing Israel’s Jewish population to settle anywhere they so wish, protected by a government that is not accountable to a Supreme Court.

Mr. Netanyahu has promised new laws that could render the judiciary relatively impotent. Legislation that passed first reading in March sits ready and waiting to destroy the calibrated mechanism by which judges are chosen, and turn them instead into government appointees. 

That law will also be bolstered by “override” legislation to constrain and even preemptively prevent judges from striking down laws considered by many as anti-democratic — a gambit that the prime minister seemed to have promised he had “thrown out” but now says he didn’t.

By appointing two radical right-wing ministers responsible for national security and for the administration of the Occupied Territories Mr. Netanyahu appears to have chosen coalition unity over national unity. This is indicative of a leader who fears the loss of personal power over the welfare of his country. 

Indeed, the fact that he is currently on trial for corruption underscores his goal of tampering with the judiciary so that he can simply make his legal problems go away. 

According to polling released in February by the Israel Democracy Institute, only a minority of Israelis support the changes. The vast majority – 72% – want a compromise to be reached and, even then, 66% think the Supreme Court should have the power to strike down laws and 63% of Israelis think the current method of appointing judges should stay as it is.

Millions of Israelis oppose the bill, including dozens of business leaders. Even Mr. Netanyahu’s own defense minister, Yoav Gallant, has called several times for delaying the legislation in order to seek broad consensus. Mr. Netanyahu tried to dismiss Mr. Gallant earlier this year for criticizing the overhaul, but never went through with the firing.

In addition, a group of 150 leading Israeli companies went on strike Monday in protest. Trade unions, civil society organizations, and the private sector are gearing up for a fight that could throw Israel further into chaos.

Israel depends on two overseas constituencies: the United States and the Diaspora Jewish community. 

President Biden told Thomas Friedman of the New York Times that “This is obviously an area about which Israelis have strong views, including in an enduring protest movement that is demonstrating the vibrancy of Israel’s democracy, which must remain the core of our bilateral relationship.” 

Diaspora Jews are, on the whole appalled by Mr. Netanyahu’s shift to the extreme right and his apparent attempts to destroy Israel’s traditional liberal democracy.

A sad state of affairs at a time when liberal democracy is under attack by political extremes everywhere.

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Edition: Estefanía Cardeña