Thousands of Israelis demonstrated across the country on Tuesday, blocking numerous major roads to protest an overnight vote in parliament that furthered efforts by the far-right coalition to limit judicial oversight of the government.
Ahead of larger rallies scheduled for the evening, protesters pitched tents on a highway in central Israel, closed arterial roads in Tel Aviv and outside Jerusalem, and marched through the arrivals hall at the country’s main airport. Police officers fired water cannons at some protesters and arrested dozens in attempts to disperse the demonstrations. Video showed officers pushing a news photographer, Rami Shlush, to the ground as he covered the events. A police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The protests have yet to match the intensity of a wave of unrest in March, when leading trade unions shut down large parts of Israel’s economy in protest at the government’s previous attempts to curb the judiciary.
But they reflected how the debate on judiciary overhaul is far from over: after a three-month hiatus in which the government and the opposition sought but failed to reach a compromise, the government is once again pushing ahead parts of her plan, which rage widely.
The dispute is part of a wider social divide between the government and its supporters, who want to create a more religious and nationalistic state, and their opponents, who have a more secular and pluralistic outlook. The rift is also rooted in a deep disagreement over the shape and future of Israeli democracy.
The government says the overhaul is designed to improve the democratic system by giving elected lawmakers more power than unelected judges.
But critics fear it undermines democracy by removing judicial oversight, risks taking the government too far and potentially giving the current government more freedom to end the persecution of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Netanyahu is on trial for corruption, an accusation he denies. He has also rejected any suggestion that he hopes to use his office to disrupt the process.
Tuesday’s protests were triggered by an overnight vote in which lawmakers — by a majority of 64 to 56 — tentatively supported a bill that would reduce the ways the Supreme Court can override elected officials.
If the bill passes two more votes in the coming weeks, it will prevent the court from using the legal standard of “reasonableness” to refute the government.
Fairness is a legal standard used by courts around the world, including in countries such as Australia, Great Britain and Canada. A decision is considered unreasonable if a court rules that it was made without considering all relevant issues or without giving relevant weight to each issue or that too much weight has been given to irrelevant factors.
Some Supreme Court judges angered the government this year by using the default to bar Aryeh Deri, a leading ultra-Orthodox politician, from becoming a minister. The judges said it was unreasonable to appoint Mr Deri as he had recently been convicted of tax fraud.
While there are other ways the court could limit government decisions, opponents of the bill say it would remove one of the main tools by which judges can defend the country against corruption and autocracy.
A growing number of military reservists, who play important roles in the military and air force, have said they will refuse to volunteer if the overhaul continues.
Larger protests were planned for Tuesday evening outside the presidency in Jerusalem and the US embassy branch in Tel Aviv.
While President Biden is critical of the revision, Israeli opposition members say the US government needs to take an even stronger stance.
Myra Noveck contributed reporting from Jerusalem.
