A controversial Bill on Judicial Reform has recently been presented in the Knesset (the Unicameral Legislature of Israel), amidst intense protests and agitation. On July 11 night (2023), 56 out of 64 members of the Parliament voted in favour of the Bill. Since then, the Israelis have been staging protests against the Government’s decision in major cities, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Protesters made an attempt to enter the Knesset building on July 11 night in protest of the presentation of the Bill. However, the Police detained them. Later, the protesters blocked the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Highway, and burnt tyres. The Police used tear gas in order to bring the situation under control. The local media reported that the Police arrested at least 42 protesters from that area.

The controversy began in January, a month after Prime Minister Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu assumed office on December 29, 2022. This time, some ultra-Right and ultra-Conservative parties are partners of the Netanyahu-led ruling Coalition. In a rare first, such a Right-Wing Government is in power in Israel. Immediately after becoming the Prime Minister, Netanyahu announced that his Government would reform the entire Judicial System.

The Oppositions condemned the Prime Minister’s decision, saying that the real plan of the Government was to make ministers more powerful, and to curtail the power of judges. As per the draft Bill, the Judiciary would have no right to criticise any decisions made by the ministers. Along with the Opposition leaders, the common people took to the streets and started staging protests. Since then, people have been taking part in weekend protests on a regular basis.

The international community, too, put Prime Minister Netanyahu under pressure for taking such a step. US President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr strongly criticised this newly-introduced Bill. Under pressure, Netanyahu decided not to present the Bill in the Knesset. However, his coalition partners continued to press the Prime Minister for Judicial Reform. On July 11, Prime Minister Netanyahu presented the Bill in the Knesset, stressing that he was ready to hold talks with the Oppositions on this Bill.

Meanwhile, the Oppositions have claimed that Prime Minister Netanyahu, accused of corruption, is trying hard to reform the Judiciary in order to get rid of the cases filed against him. Netanyahu recently claimed during an interview to the Western media that the cases against him would have nothing to do with the Judicial Reform.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das