Israel is on the edge, for the last few months thousands of people have hit the streets, and almost all sections of Israeli society have risen in unison against the Benjamin Netanyahu led right-wing government in the country. The reason – the Israeli government has introduced a law and even got it passed through its parliament, known as the Knesset, with a 64-0 result even as the opposition members of the Israeli parliament boycotted the voting.

Israel seems to be on a precipice, because of the divisive nature of the Israeli government’s ‘judiciary reform’ law. It seeks to curb the ‘reasonableness’ power of the Israeli judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court and ensure that the executive has a firmer hold over the judiciary.

Contentious law

The Israeli government’s law is aimed at curbing the power of ‘reasonableness’ of the Israeli Judiciary. According to Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a contributing editor for the Indian Express and Professor of Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University, reasonableness is the judicial review power of the Israeli Supreme Court.

Judicial review is the power of the judiciary in a country to determine the constitutional validity of executive enactments; legislative acts etc. and determine whether they are in accordance with the constitutional provisions and constitutional morality. The concept of judicial review originated in the United States of America and is also followed in India as well, albeit differently.

The Israeli Supreme Court’s power of ‘reasonableness’ is similar to the ‘procedure established by law’ concept followed by the Indian judiciary.

The recent law propounded by the Israeli government seeks to curb this power of the Israeli Supreme Court with the ultimate aim of ‘reining the judiciary’. The government not only seeks to control the judiciary but also ensure that it has a greater say in the appointment of judges.

Opposition to the government law

The government law, ever since its release, has met with fierce opposition not just from the people at large but also from the powerful military. The law was unveiled earlier in February this year, triggering massive protests against the proposed judicial overhaul exercise of the government.

The Netanyahu government relented and placed the law on hold. But come July, not only has the government decided to ignore the public opinion but also passed the bill in the parliament.

In response, people from all walks of life have hit the streets protesting against the government’s autocratic attempts to push through the controversial law.

Even the powerful military of Israel has not remained mute on this issue. Several thousand reservists in the Israeli army have announced their strong disapproval of the government law and elite officers from the three branches of the Israeli armed forces have refused to work, showing their solidarity with the masses.

Threat to the societal fabric

The law is a quintessential evidence of how the incumbent Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to save his neck. This law is clearly aimed at saving himself from investigation against corruption cases that he is embroiled in.

The people and the army constituents, who are involved in the protests have stated that they are loyal not to any government but to the Israeli constitution and are firm believers in the values and principles of a liberal democracy.

However, what is worrying is that the law to control the judiciary will undermine the delicate social fabric of Israel. Should the law which is currently in its bill form become a law, then there is a distinct possibility that more such divisive laws targeting secular liberal Israelis, people from the Arab minority, LGBTQ+ community etc. may be tabled and enforced.

On top of that, the polarisation within the Israeli society will end up weakening its defences and undermining the preparedness of the Israeli military to deal with internal and external threats.

Israel has a history of seeing its social fabric teetering on the brink whenever any significant upheaval happens. Perhaps this may turn out to be one such event, if urgent measures to make amends are not undertaken quickly.

To conclude, as Abraham Lincoln once said, “Democracy of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from Earth”. The people of Israel must be resilient enough to deal with this attempt to undermine democracy in Israel, they will surely emerge victorious. Authoritarianism cannot be allowed to win.

–The writer is currently working as a Research Associate at Defence Research and Studies (dras.in) and is a columnist. The views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda