Israel passes law protecting Netanyahu as protests continue
>> Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition on Thursday passed the first of several laws that make up its contentious judicial overhaul. Protesters opposing the changes staged another day of demonstrations to raise alarm over what they see as Israel's descent toward autocracy.
Thousands protested throughout the country, blocking traffic on main highways and scuffling with police in unrest that shows no sign of abating as the overhaul moves ahead.
Netanyahu's coalition approved legislation that would protect the Israeli leader from being deemed unfit to rule because of his corruption trial and claims of a conflict of interest surrounding his involvement in the legal changes. Critics say the law is tailor-made for Netanyahu, encourages corruption and deepens a gaping chasm between Israelis over the judicial overhaul.
Netanyahu's office said he would be delivering “an important declaration” Thursday evening after Israeli media reported that his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, would publicly call for a halt to the legislative drive. Sara Netanyahu, the premier's minister's wife and informal advisor, issued a rare statement calling for broad compromise.
But after a brief meeting with Netanyahu, Gallant called off his announcement and Netanyahu delivered a speech making vague promises to calm the nation and respect all opinions as his government moves ahead with his plan. He offered no details on how he plans to do so.
“The best way to achieve a balanced reform and prevent a rift in the nation is through deliberation and reaching the broadest consensus,” he said. “I am working to reach a solution, I am attentive to the concerns of the other side.”
The legal changes have split the nation between those who see the new policies as stripping Israel of its democratic ideals and those who think it has been overrun by a liberal judiciary. The government's plan has plunged the nearly 75-year-old state into one of its worst domestic crises.
“Either Israel will be a Jewish, democratic and progressive state or religious, totalitarian, failing, isolated and closed off. That's where they are leading us,” Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister and a prominent supporter of the protest movement, told Israeli
Army Radio.
The opposition is rooted in broad swaths of society — including business leaders and top legal officials. Even the country's military, seen as a beacon of stability by Israel's Jewish majority, is enmeshed in the political conflict, as a growing number of reservists are refusing to show up for duty over the changes. Israel's international allies have also expressed concern.
The law to protect Netanyahu passed in an early morning vote 61-47 in Israel's 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, after a debate that ran through the night. Netanyahu, sitting by his justice minister and the overhaul's architect, Yariv Levin, was seen smiling and smirking during the vote.
It stipulates that a prime minister can only be deemed unfit to rule for health or mental reasons and that only he or his government can make that decision. It comes after the country's attorney general has faced growing calls by Netanyahu opponents to declare him unfit to rule because of his legal problems.
The attorney general has already barred Netanyahu from direct involvement in the legal overhaul, saying he is at risk of a conflict of interest because of his corruption trial.