Judicial plan advances despite protests in Israel
JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on Tuesday for the first time advanced a plan to overhaul the country’s legal system, defying a mass uproar among Israelis and calls for restraint from the United States.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the parliament, or Knesset, for a second straight week to rally against the plan as lawmakers held an initial vote — the first of three readings required for parliamentary approval. The 63-47 vote after midnight gave initial approval to a plan that would give Netanyahu’s coalition more power over who becomes a judge. It is part of a broader package of changes that seeks to weaken the country’s Supreme Court and transfer more power to the ruling coalition.
Netanyahu and his allies, a collection of ultra-religious and ultranationalist lawmakers, say the plan is meant to fix a system that has given the courts and government legal advisers too much say in how legislation is crafted and decisions are made. Critics say it will upend the country’s system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of the prime minister. They also say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has a conflict of interest.
For a second straight week, thousands of people poured into the city from around the country for a mass demonstration. Many waved Israeli flags, blew horns, and held signs reading “saving democracy.”
“All the steps that are going to take place now in the Knesset will change us to a pure dictatorship,” said Itan Gur Aryeh, a 74-year-old retiree. “All the power will be with the government, with the head of the government and we’ll all be without rights.”
Netanyahu accused the demonstrators of inciting violence and said they were ignoring the will of the people.