PM Netanyahu Pauses Judicial Reform in Israel: Is that a Good Thing?
PM Netanyahu Pauses Judicial Reform in Israel: Is that a Good Thing?
PM Netanyahu appears to have called for a pause in the legislative push for reform so that all parties may consult and, hopefully, reach some form of consensus.
“Is it a good thing?”
That’s the question that everyone in Israel and so many abroad are asking as we move into the weekend before Passover.
I write this in an almond orchard in the Golan Heights, strong coffee in hand, on a brilliantly sunny morning. It’s chilly up here with a brisk breeze.
I needed distance – physically and psychologically - from the mayhem of the last few months.
“OK. But. Is it a good thing?”
That question, of course, refers to the “decision” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pause the judicial “reform” legislation that his coalition government has been ramming frantically through the Knesset in recent months.
Following the unprecedented civil unrest that erupted on Sunday night throughout Israel in response to the PM’s firing of Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, Netanyahu took to the airwaves on Monday night.
His putative reason for addressing the nation was to…..well…..one would assume that his intention would be to reassure. Do what leaders do in times of unrest and instability.
One might have expected that he would have spoken to all Israelis in a genuinely conciliatory manner; to assuage what is a terrifyingly unprecedented level of domestic strife.
Instead, he stoked the rage.
PM Netanyahu began his short address with a biblical story, about two women who came before King Solomon, three thousand years ago. Each claimed to be the mother of an infant, but when the King said that the baby shall be cut in half, only one woman protested. Of course, in doing so, she revealed herself to be the real mother.
It would appear that in Netanyahu’s mind, he is the surrogate for the biological mother, who would do anything to save her baby. So, in order to save the nation he loves, Netanyahu will go against his nature, which is pure, and will sacrifice, for a short time, his goal to implement what is best for the nation; the legal “reforms.”
Or, perhaps he is the King, endowed with the power, wisdom and authority to offer the women a choice which, unbeknownst to them, will ferret out the actual mother. In modern Israel, his “pause” offers warring camps the same opportunity; come clean or be exposed.
After his high-minded biblical parable, the Prime Minister went on to vilify those who “refuse” to serve in the IDF (protesting the reforms, which they believe threaten democracy), and therefore endanger the nation. It was very clear that in his world, the fighter pilots – refusers, as he smears them in Hebrew – are the destructive force, like the charlatan mother. As he said in his speech:
However, there is one thing that I cannot accept. There is an extremist minority that is prepared to tear our country to pieces. It is using violence and incitement, it is threatening to harm elected officials, it is stoking civil war, and it is calling for refusal to serve, which is a terrible crime.
The State of Israel cannot exist without the IDF and the IDF cannot exist with refusal to serve. Refusal to serve by one side will lead to refusal to serve by the other. Refusal to serve is the end of our country. Therefore, I demand that the heads of the security services and of the army vigorously oppose the phenomenon of refusal to serve, not contain it, not understand it, not accept it – but put a stop to it.
Those who call for refusal to serve, those who call for anarchy and violence, are knowingly cutting the baby in two.
This incitement is classic Netanyahu. He is the master of the forked tongue; pretend to bring the nation together while exacerbating tensions with irresponsible dog whistles. What’s so bad about it, you ask?
Netanyahu also mentioned that the majority – those in his governing coalition and the population they represent – are fed up with being treated as second class citizens. Divide and conquer. And he is doing this in order to inflame, not tamp, anger. He is encouraging his supporters to vilify whoever opposes him as an elitist, leftist, anarchist, mob.
Here’s what Netanyahu is really saying:
From Hebrew: Let's not get confused, the "second class citizen" campaign is an act designed to save a regime coup created by Netanyahu, Levin and Rothman. The elite of the elites, the edge of the hegemony and the privileged. It is a hegemony that is aware of its hegemony and makes fun of the others. It is a rude and ugly act that tries to increase the hatred in the people of Israel in order to save the king.
From Hebrew: Not for nothing did the pilots become a target. Enemies of "the people". They have always been considered elitist. An easy target for the hate mongers. Why didn't the campaign choose armored personnel carriers who said they would not serve a dictatorship? Or paratroopers? Or just snobs who have said enough? The easiest way is to forcefully create a rift in the people of Israel, to incite and slander and in the same breath to spread statements like: let's talk.
Avi Issacharoff, former combat soldier in one of the toughest Israeli units, mizrachi, journalist who has evolved into a television star – as co-creator of the hit series “Fauda”, among other achievements – has exposed Netanyahu’s duplicitousness brilliantly in these two tweets. (More on that in a podcast interview with Issacharoff, coming soon at State of Tel Aviv, And Beyond.)
Netanyahu is shameless, inciting the nation against fighter pilots, without whom this country would not exist. He openly targets and pillories them for being the catalyst and cause of this national crisis. Fighter pilots, to the Prime Minister, are the moral equivalents of the lying woman who would see the baby cut in half. Fighter pilots, he insinuates clearly, would destroy the nation. Their motive? Netanyahu’s divisive identity politics promote the theory the pilots will do anything to maintain their privileged status; even ruin the country that they have given their lives to defend.
That’s some unity strategy, Prime Minister.
And so, he said, the legislative push would be paused and the coalition government would sit down with Opposition interests – with President Herzog acting as mediator – to discuss their mutual concerns and positions. Such magnanimity.
Thing is – in addition to demonizing the pilots - Netanyahu asserted that the legislative push would resume on May 1.
Netanyahu’s double-talk was taken by key coalition ministers as license to do the same. In short order, Minister of Justice Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir – took the lead in setting the tone. Nothing will change, they stated publicly. The legal reforms are just slightly delayed. But they will become law very quickly when the Knesset resumes sitting on May 1.
The coalition government’s understanding of consultation and consensus boils down to this: either you capitulate and accept our reform legislation or we will impose it on you.
This unabashed disingenuousness is next level. This government makes no effort to even pretend. So, then, why even bother? Why indulge President Herzog and the leftist cabal with dignifying their pleas for consultations?
In my view, the primary reason is Netanyahu’s significant slip in the polls.
From 9:40 pm on Sunday night, when nationwide protests broke out spontaneously – in response to WhatsApp notices bouncing from group to group in protest of his firing of Gallant 40 minutes earlier – and for a full 24 hours, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went silent. During what was probably the most significant domestic uprising in the history of the nation, he disappeared.
It is safe to assume that he was cloistered with his closest advisers, considering his options.
Perhaps.
Or, maybe he was just waiting for emergency poll results to come in, not too fussed that the nation had literally come to a standstill on Monday, waiting for the Prime Minister to say, or do, something.
The polls did not bring good news, confirming that 60% of Likud voters were not supportive of the reforms or the manner in which they were being pushed. This means, of course, that among the general population dissatisfaction with the reforms and process was significantly higher.
So, Netanyahau announced his non-pause “pause”.
We have also since learned that he did not, in fact, send written notice to Minister Gallant notifying him of his firing, meaning that by law, Gallant remains in charge of Defense. Nothing with Netanyahu is inadvertent and this wrinkle is no exception.
Netanyahu is in a pickle. He has no clear alternate for Gallant. So, speculation is rampant that if Gallant will humiliate himself publicly and apologize to Netanyahu that he may remain in the job.
All bets are off as to whether Gallant will heel to Netanyahu in this moment.
Having been assured by Netanyahu that he would pause the progress of the reform, a “promise” on which the Prime Minister reneged, Minister Gallant had finally had enough last Saturday. It is on his shoulders that the security of the nation rests. And for weeks now, the heads of all security forces in Israel – including the IDF chief of staff – have been ringing alarms. The country’s security predicament is as dire as it was before the 1973 war, perhaps moreso. They all urged a “time out” on the legislation push in order to unify security forces and operational readiness.
Netanyahu’s willingness to ignore these warnings was just too much for Gallant, and so he honored his duty to the nation to notify the people of the reality of Israel’s security situation. But to King Bibi it was a step too far. How dare anyone cross him. Publicly, no less.
There is always a steep price to pay with Bibi. But his firing of Gallant incensed the nation, mobilizing the population with an alarming speed and intensity. Only in wartime do we see such cohesion.
Security of the nation is not a red line. It is a sacred line. Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, had a duty to the people, not the Prime Minister’s ego.
So. This “pause”. You ask. Is it a good thing?
Unnoticed but not at all insignificant is the quiet revolt of Shas leader Aryeh Deri. Commanding 11 Knesset seats, Deri’s party is considered to be haredi – representing Mizrachi and Sephardic voters – but the twist is that many of his supporters are much more traditional than ultra-orthodox. Many serve in the IDF. And they are not keen on the extremist cohort in the coalition – like Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir and their colleagues.
Last week, interestingly, Deri requested that the Deri 2 law be withdrawn from the Knesset schedule. This law would have overturned a recent Supreme Court decision holding that the recidivist convicted criminal (Deri) was wildly unsuited to hold high office. His character – including having lied to the Court – was seen by the Bench to be evidence of bad character. And the judges who were most vociferous in their findings, ironically, were right-wing.
Deri clearly has a nose for when things are becoming too rancid. And it seems that this sludge is too much even for him to tolerate.
So, again, you ask, is this a good sign, this pause?
Netanyahu is in the fight of his life – again – and shows no signs of being genuinely open to negotiation or compromise. In fact, he and his coalition colleagues continue to promote the position that the majority of Israelis voted for this judicial reform.
This assertion is patently untrue.
Firstly, the coalition was supported by 48% of the electorate, which, by definition, is not a majority. It is the peculiarities of the way in which the proportional representation system in Israel “works” that resulted in this coalition having a Knesset majority.
More importantly, though, is the fact that this very extreme and far-reaching “reform” was never put to the public for consideration. There were comments here and there by a few parties regarding the alleged corruption of the Supreme Court and the imperative for reform. But no detailed plan was put forward. And the reality is that the “reform” being advocated is the brainchild of Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin – who has been obsessed with judicial reform for two decades and Religious Zionist MK Simcha Rothman, working with the self-appointed legal shepherds of the nation – the Kohelet Policy Forum.
What this “reform” does is to totally reinvent Israeli democracy and power of key institutions – like the Supreme Court and the Knesset. In order to undertake such fundamental reform a proper national conversation is absolutely critical. And this would take time. A range of interests – including minorities – must be heard. A “quick and dirty” overhaul without broad and meaningful consultation will result in national ruin – as we are seeing.
Netanyahu and his supporters would no doubt reply by pointing to the de facto usurpation of democratic power by the Supreme Court in recent decades, thereby justifying a reverse coup by the “majority.” Both are wrong and ill-advised.
If you really want to lead reform that will be received as being legitimate by all Israelis then consult. Have a referendum.
But Netanyahu cannot and will not do that because if he does then his extreme coalition will implode. And he will be out of power. And power is all that seems to concern him, no matter the consequence. His decisions are increasingly irrational and dangerous. He will retain power no matter the consequence.
But - don’t take my word for it.
Just consider the lineup of those opposed to this “reform”; every head of security institutions – including the IDF - in Israel, current and former; all Governors of the Bank of Israel, current and former; CEOs of banks, key rating agencies and VCs; industry leaders in Israel and abroad, etc.
In a responsible democracy, constitutional reform is undertaken in a much more measured way. It takes time. And thought. It’s not like plunging a toilet.
What Israel needs is serious, considered reform in which all stakeholders participate. Suddenly changing the rules – so that the barest majority of Knesset has absolute authority to change the institutional foundations of the nation - is not advisable.
The coalition government has no authority to do so – morally, legally, politically - and if they carry on like this they will, I fear, bring on civil war.
The sour grapes of the ashkenazi elites, sensing that the days when only they called the shots are over. Vivian Bercovici, a prime example of this club; former diplomate, because you were born in the right family with the right connections, so morally superior to the sefardic average Joe, cannot stand the fact Israel is drifting away from a western-oriented past to a middle eastern future.
How amusing to see her trying to sell her temper tantrum as moral virtue.
Where were you protesting when the supreme court under Aharon Barak assumed the power to not only check the laws adopted by the Knesset for their legality, but also their validity, in essence assuming overall power by a body that isn't chosen by the people nor can be voted out of office by the people?
Oh right, you were nowhere, because the supreme court is left leaning and suits your agenda. If that ain't hypocrisy, I don't know what is. The internal strife in Israel at the moment is as much on Itamar Ben-Gvir as it is on Aharon Barak (such a shame for a man with his history).