Israel’s government aims to neutralise the Supreme Court and erode democracy, but perhaps the US president can appeal to Benjamin Netanyahu on security grounds.
Israel’s decades-old claim of being the Middle East’s most robust democracy has always been circumscribed by its second-class treatment of citizens of Arab descent – and its inhumane conduct toward the Palestinians.
Now even this qualified assertion hangs by a thread as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proceeds with his ill-conceived plan to overhaul the nation’s judiciary.
On Monday, his right-wing coalition pushed through a law curbing the oversight powers of the courts, a measure that has split the country and prompted mass protests for months. With opposition lawmakers boycotting the vote, the bill passed with 64 votes to 0.
The measure will curtail the judiciary’s ability to overrule government decisions and appointments. The prime minister claims that judges have too much arbitrary authority. Critics of his proposed overhaul say the judiciary is the only check on the power of the government.
Some contend that Netanyahu’s main objective is to prevent the courts from imprisoning him if he is found guilty on charges of bribery and fraud.
Netanyahu’s plan, popular with his right-wing base, has drawn strong and sustained condemnation from much of the Israeli establishment, including military reservists and business leaders. They fear that the enfeebling of the judiciary will compromise the rule of law and make the economy unattractive for investment.
Read the article by Bobby Ghosh in the Financial Review.