{"id":36487,"date":"2023-07-26T06:19:07","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T06:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=36487"},"modified":"2023-07-26T06:19:09","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T06:19:09","slug":"israel-government-passed-controversial-legal-overhaul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2023\/07\/26\/israel-government-passed-controversial-legal-overhaul\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel government passed controversial legal overhaul"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Israeli government has passed the first major piece<\/strong>of legislation in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s plan to overhaul the country\u2019s legal system \u2014 part of a broader plan that has triggered nationwide protests, divided the country and rattled the powerful military and influential business community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan seeks to weaken the country\u2019s Supreme Court<\/strong>and transfer more powers to the parliament. Supporters say Israel\u2019s unelected judges wield too much power. But opponents say the judges play an important oversight role, and that the plan will push Israel toward autocratic rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the fraught atmosphere, Netanyahu\u2019s allies say they are moving forward<\/strong> on the overhaul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at how the overhaul could affect Israel in the coming months:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHY IS THE COUNTRY SO DIVIDED?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has long been a polarizing leader. His government took office in December, after narrowly winning the country\u2019s fifth election in under four years. All of those elections focused on Netanyahu\u2019s fitness to rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These divisions have been reflected in the debate about the overhaul \u2014 stretching across religious, class and ethnic lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anti-government protesters come largely from Israel\u2019s urban middle class and include doctors, academics, military officers and business leaders. Netanyahu\u2019s supporters tend to be poorer, more religious and include residents of West Bank settlements and outlying areas. Many are working-class Jews of Mizrahi, or Middle Eastern, descent who see themselves marginalized by an Ashkenazi, or European, elite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the Knesset vote that pushed the law through on Monday, Netanyahu appealed for unity and dialogue. But his opponents rejected the offer as insincere and vowed to continue the protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe morning after, we emerge to an Israel with internal battle lines drawn, an Israel potentially at war with itself, a government certainly at war with much, perhaps most, of the people,\u201d wrote David Horovitz, founding editor of the Times of Israel news site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simcha Rothman, the Israeli lawmaker who has spearheaded the overhaul, said he hopes the opposition will be \u201cresponsible\u201d and return to negotiations. But he made clear he is not done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have the majority,\u201d he said, referring to the parliamentary coalition. \u201cThe majority of the people in Israel still support the reform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WILL THE MILITARY\u2019S READINESS BE AFFECTED?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of military reservists have threatened to stop reporting for duty now that the first law has been passed. The military depends heavily on these volunteer reservists, particularly air force pilots, intelligence officers and members of other specialized units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current and former military brass have warned that if the reservists follow through on their threats, the military\u2019s ability to function in a national emergency could be compromised.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t have a strong and united defense force, if Israel\u2019s best do not serve in the IDF, we will no longer be able to exist as a country in the region,\u201d warned Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the chief of staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT ISRAEL\u2019S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE US?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By pushing through the new law without a broad political consensus, Netanyahu has defied the country\u2019s closest ally, the United States, which gives Israel nearly $4 billion in annual military assistance and diplomatic backing in international forums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a rare public warning ahead of the vote, President Joe Biden called on the Israeli government to postpone the session and try to reach a compromise with the opposition. The White House lamented Monday\u2019s vote result as \u201cunfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts say the contentious plan could undermine what both countries routinely describe as shared interests and values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul-general in New York, said that Netanyahu\u2019s disregard for American concerns would further hurt the Israeli leader\u2019s troubled relationship with the U.S. president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one will take Netanyahu at his word,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vote could also deepen a growing rift between the conservative Israeli government and the predominantly liberal American Jewish community. Two major groups, the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Federations of North America, expressed deep \u201cdisappointment\u201d over Monday\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE PALESTINIANS?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palestinians look at the unrest roiling Israel as proof of what they see as hypocrisy, saying that Israel\u2019s ongoing, 56-year occupation of the West Bank long ago undermined Israel\u2019s democracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPalestinians see this as a contradiction, that Israelis are fighting for freedom and democracy through institutions that are inherently preventing an entire people from freedom and democracy,\u201d said In\u00e8s Abdel Razek, executive director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy, an advocacy group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some politicians and analysts warn that the potential consequences of the judicial changes have a deeper reach into the West Bank than the public might think, eroding the main check on a far-right coalition bent on expanding settlements and increasing Israel\u2019s control over the occupied territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a dangerous development for us,\u201d said Mustafa Barghouti, a veteran Palestinian activist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WILL THE PROTESTS CONTINUE?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After seven months of mass demonstrations against the plan, the grassroots protest movement says it has no plans on stopping. Monday\u2019s vote was met by fierce protests across Israel and unprecedented clashes between protesters and the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, said the \u201cprotests are not going anywhere, especially because the government has clearly stated that this is just phase one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Josh Drill, a spokesperson for the protest movement, called for new measures, such as not paying taxes. He also called on the U.S. and the American Jewish community to reconsider financial support for the Israeli government and instead donate to advocacy groups aligned with the movement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow many statements can the U.S. administration put out that they\u2019re distraught or that they\u2019re worried? Come on, that\u2019s not actually doing anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WILL THIS PUT ISRAEL\u2019S ECONOMY AT RISK? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday\u2019s vote sent the Israeli currency and stock market tumbling and yielded warnings from the Moody\u2019s credit rating agency of \u201cnegative consequences\u201d for the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Netanyahu dismissed the negative reactions as a \u201cmomentary response\u201d and insisted: \u201cWhen the dust clears, it will be clear that the Israeli economy is very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But many experts believe the damage to the economy could be long-lasting \u2014 with foreign investors potentially deterred by fears that a weak judiciary could open the door to corruption and hurt the business environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The threat is particularly acute in in Israel\u2019s high-tech sector \u2014 a key portion of Israel\u2019s economy. On Tuesday, leading Israeli newspapers covered their front pages in black \u2014 an ominous image that was paid for by an alliance of high-tech companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA black day for Israeli democracy,\u201d the ad read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yannay Spitzer, an economist at Israel\u2019s Hebrew University, said Israeli stock prices have lagged behind global indexes since the plan was unveiled. This trend, he said, \u201ccannot be accounted for by ordinary market developments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIsrael is headed to become an economically backward country with civil strife,\u201d Spitzer predicted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Israeli government has passed the first major pieceof legislation in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s plan to overhaul the country\u2019s legal system \u2014 part of a broader plan that has triggered nationwide protests, divided the country and rattled the powerful military and influential business community.  The plan seeks to weaken the country\u2019s Supreme Courtand transfer more powers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":36488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[7603,8843,6728,7358,5178,6573,9194,887,10000,1384,11399,11606,2884,10347,12246,5257,5196,911,9196,9505,4313,4028,2264,12957,10954,3095,6057,6259,2471,7519,5406,5179,10342,10358,11743,10742,5572,8154,12287,8000,990,7964,11973,8637,5568,6821,1198,10067,421,11698,3805,10390,3174,5561,11171,5807,6327,8840,6206,10236,11581,9262,11957,214,6348,5251,5570,6571,2982,3954,594],"class_list":["post-36487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","tag-activist","tag-air-force","tag-alliance","tag-bank","tag-biden","tag-black","tag-charges","tag-chief-of-staff","tag-conservative","tag-corruption","tag-debate","tag-democracy","tag-demonstration","tag-diplomacy","tag-diplomatic","tag-doctors","tag-economy","tag-election","tag-environment","tag-european","tag-executive-director","tag-freedom","tag-government","tag-idf","tag-international","tag-israel","tag-jerusalem","tag-jews","tag-joe-biden","tag-judges","tag-judiciary","tag-knesset","tag-law","tag-legal-overhaul","tag-majority","tag-market","tag-military","tag-moody","tag-movement","tag-negotiations","tag-new-york","tag-north","tag-one","tag-palestine","tag-palestinian","tag-palestinians","tag-parliament","tag-pilots","tag-police","tag-politicians","tag-president","tag-prices","tag-prime-minister","tag-protest","tag-protesters","tag-risk","tag-stock","tag-strong","tag-taxes","tag-tech","tag-trial","tag-united-states","tag-unity","tag-university","tag-us","tag-war","tag-west-bank","tag-white","tag-white-house","tag-will","tag-who"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36487"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36489,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36487\/revisions\/36489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}