Berlin.
Israel’s prime minister failed with his judicial reform. Now he can no longer control the polarizers in his cabinet.
For a long time Israel was considered the only one democracy in the politically highly unstable Middle East. It was always loud and argumentative, but the rule of law worked. That impeccable reputation has cracked – it’s even endangered.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was seriously planning to push through judicial reform in the form of a cold political coup. If it came to that, he would Supreme Court – an essential anchor of the separation of powers – degraded to a background role. Parliament could have overturned any decision of the Chief Justices by a simple majority. This is all the more serious as Israel has no constitution. The Supreme Court played a fundamental role in interpreting the Basic Laws.
Israel: Prime Minister charged with fraud, embezzlement and corruption
Netanyahu made several serious mistakes. On the one hand, he exposed himself to the accusation that he wanted to push through the de facto synchronization of the judiciary with the legislative and governing power in his own interest. The head of government is accused of fraud, breach of trust and bribery. With an amputated supreme jurisdiction, he faces less political danger.
On the other hand, Netanyahu miscalculated his spaceship policy: He thought he could go through with one that was tailored to his taste judicial reform float in, present this to the population as a finished result and then go back to business as usual. Also interesting: Israel discusses death penalty for terrorists
Rarely has a prime minister ruled so disregarding the people as Netanyahu
This approach failed miserably. The prime minister was so detached from reality that he simply ignored the broad resistance in the population. Not only the opposition parties stormed against the project. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets again and again, army soldiers protested, the trade unions called for a general strike. Defense Minister Joav Gallant even dared open rebellion with his no to judicial reform.
Rarely has a prime minister ruled so disregarding the people as Netanyahu. President Yitzchak Herzog finally warned of a “civil war” – and attested the head of government with his concrete thinking practically incompetent. Also read the comment: Protests in Israel – The government’s days are numbered
Netanyahu has now postponed the project – with an early suspension he could have taken steam out of the tense situation. A signal along the lines of “We understand” would not have resolved the conflict, but it would at least have calmed things down a bit. The prime minister missed this moment. Even if he were to put judicial reform on hold now, his reputation would be severely damaged. Given the unrest in the country, he must face a dangerous loss of control get chalked.
Israel: Right-wing ministers continue to add fuel to the fire
One can go even further: the head of the most right-wing government in the history of the State of Israel is no longer in control. He has become hostage to a coalition that also includes ultra-Orthodox and, for the first time, extreme right parties involved. The latter includes not only Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister for National Security. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is one of them. This called for counter-protests for judicial reform and thus poured fuel on the fire.
Netanyahu can use the rumble and polarizers in his Cabinet no longer steer. This deepens the country’s already deep internal political divisions. And it is to be feared that the government’s radical course will exacerbate the conflict with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Willingness to engage in dialogue is not everything. But without the willingness to engage in dialogue, politics in a democracy fails.
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