Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday a easing of his plan to reform the judicial system, but the opposition stated that the plan still poses a challenge to key legislation in the Supreme Court, paving the way for a constitutional confrontation. After discussing the crisis with U.S. President Joe Biden, Netanyahu stated that he would "postpone most of the bills, except for the legislation that amends the system for selecting judges in Israel, which he aims to approve before the Knesset recess scheduled for April 2."
The package of judicial amendments sought by Netanyahu's coalition of religious and nationalist parties has sparked unprecedented protests in the streets for weeks and raised concerns among Western allies who see it as a threat to the independence of the judicial system in Israel. Improvements were made to that legislation during a review session held by the Knesset on Sunday. These improvements will reduce the potential majority of representatives from the ruling coalition on the committee that reviews judicial appointments.
Netanyahu described his enhanced plan to amend judicial authority laws in a statement with his coalition partners as "extending a helping hand to anyone who truly cares about national unity and the desire to reach a solution that enjoys consensus." The opposition, belonging to the center-left, rejected the proposal. Opposition leader Yair Lapid stated in television remarks, "This is a scheme to seize the justice system in a hostile manner. The moment the amendment to the judicial appointments committee is approved, we will appeal it in the Supreme Court."
Legislators fear that the controversy within Israeli society over the judicial amendments will escalate if the Supreme Court is asked to annul legislation that limits its powers, while Netanyahu asserts that the amendments aim to create a balance among the branches of government. The White House indicated that Biden said in a call on Sunday that he supports reaching a compromise on the judicial law amendments and encourages putting checks and balances in place to achieve a broad agreement.
Netanyahu's office assured the American president of the safety of Israel's democratic system. The original proposed legal amendments stipulated that the committee would include three ministers, two deputies from the ruling coalition parties, and two public figures chosen by the government, granting it a majority of seven to four in votes.
In the amended version, the committee will consist of three ministers, three deputies from the coalition, three judges, and two opposition deputies, resulting in a smaller government majority of six votes to five. The improved legal amendment proposal also states that no more than two judges can be appointed to the Supreme Court during a routine vote in one Knesset session. Any appointments exceeding that must be approved by a majority of committee members, including at least one judge and one opposition deputy.
Later that day, Netanyahu's Likud party voted overwhelmingly in favor of the amended bill. The Black Flags movement, a rights group, stated that protests would intensify in defiance of Netanyahu's offer, which they rejected as "a clear attempt to quash the protests with sanitized rhetoric." The package of judicial amendments sought by Netanyahu's coalition of religious and nationalist parties has sparked unprecedented protests that have been ongoing for weeks and raised concerns among Western allies.
