Israel enacts judicial reform despite widespread left-wing protests.
The Knesset Takes a Stand Against the Israeli Left
The Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, made a bold move on Monday by approving an amendment to the country’s Basic Law. This decision has sparked outrage among the Israeli Left, which is witnessing its control over the political arena slowly erode.
The amendment, which received a unanimous 64-0 vote from the right-wing bloc, aims to curb the nation’s “reasonableness standard.” This standard allowed judges in Israel to block decisions made by elected officials if they deemed them unreasonable. Essentially, it gave the justices a de facto veto power over government policies. Given that the Israeli Supreme Court has historically been dominated by leftists, this standard effectively granted the Left permanent control over the judiciary and government decisions.
Unsurprisingly, the Left has twisted its loss of control into a perceived threat to democracy and has launched protests across the country.
Returning Power to the People
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir expressed the importance of this amendment, stating, “We started by correcting the cause of reasonableness, as part of the important reform to correct the entire judicial system. The time has come to return the power to the public and stop the rule of the junta. Correcting the cause of reasonableness is an extremely important step, but we must pass the entire reform. Changing the Judicial Selection Committee, the cancellation of the Override Clause, changing the powers of the Attorney General. Bringing democracy back to Israel.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich celebrated the victory, saying, “Tonight, democracy won with 64 supporters against 56 opponents to the reduction of the cause of reasonableness.”
Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer also praised the amendment, stating, “Tonight, we passed an important amendment to the cause of reasonableness in the first reading. An amendment that will allow the government ministers to implement the policy for which we were elected. I congratulate Minister Yariv Levin and the chairman of the Constitution Committee, Simcha Rothman, and call on the members of the opposition to behave responsibly and heed the call of the Minister of Justice to negotiate for the benefit of the State of Israel.”
However, the opposition did not hold back in criticizing the amendment. Former Prime Minister and opposition leader Yair Lapid referred to the right-wing government as “thieves in the night” and threatened that “millions of Israelis will take to the streets tomorrow.” Yisrael Beitenu chairman Avigdor Liberman echoed these sentiments, claiming that the amended law poses “serious damage to democracy.”
I am not the biggest Bibi fan.
But can we just stop and honor a man who is so freaking driven in his service to Israel that he had heart surgery and then put on a suit, got in a car, and is now running negotiations like a super-boss from his Knesset seat like he just woke up… pic.twitter.com/CrZS4leWoQ
— Malkah Fleisher 🕎 (@MalkahFleisher) July 24, 2023
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