I don’t think we have a thread on this, but I feel like it’s a major issue. Unless I’m just being sucked in by sensationalist reporting?
So it seems that the current Netanyahu government doesn’t like the fact that the Israeli supreme court can invalidate ruling government’s laws, but due to the lack of a constitution that would really define the separation of powers, they want to pass a law that would neuter the court. ? I readily admit I might be misunderstanding here, and that’s part of the reason for this topic.
So that’s led to a massive protest movement because it would result in a lack of checks and balances. And now the Israeli president is saying they could be on the brink of civil war?
I, personally, have always felt Israel was struggling to balance being a religious state with being a democracy (ultimately, I think the two are inherently in conflict). But is this really as bad as the media are making it out to be?
I know there isn’t much of a thesis or question here, but I guess I’d like to hear thoughts on exactly what this is about, and how serious it is.
I believer there are more than a couple of Israelis posting on this site, but the only one I can recall at the moment is @Alessan . He might be able to shed some light on the issue for you.
One of the things I’m struggling to understand is exactly what the religious conservatives want from the court. I understand that the change will allow the legislature to override a court ruling, but I keep seeing statements like this one, from NBC ( Israelis step up protests after Netanyahu rejects compromise ):
He cobbled together a coalition with ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies who have long sought to curb the powers of the judiciary. Parties who support West Bank settlements see the court as an obstacle to their expansionist ambitions, while religious factions are driven to limit the court’s ability to rule on matters they fear could disrupt their way of life.
I get the statement about west bank settlements, but what “matters” would disrupt their lives? And what are the secular Israelis afraid of, specifically?
I see lots of coverage of the dispute but not a lot of detail.
Women’s rights. Gay rights. Abortion rights. Religious freedoms. The right to eat what you want, and the right to do what you want on the Sabbath. Jewish fundies may want slightly different things than Christian fundies, but they’re just as will to do whatever they can to get them.
The big case currently being discussed - and their big trial balloon - is a law they passed a few years ago prohibiting people from bringing leavened bread into hospitals during Passover, including by requiring hospital security to check people’s bags. The Supreme Court struck it down as violating religious freedom, and if the new laws pass, the Knesset will be able to override any court ruling with a majority vote. Passover is in two weeks; they intend to force the law through by there.
Now, whether or not people are allowed to bring crackers into a hospital may not seem like a big deal to you, but secular Israelis know that it’s a massive slippery slope. If they pass that in spite of judicial review, they’ll pass anything. And believe me, there are some legislators in the majority right now who will fit in very will with Lauren Boebert et al, and due to our coalition system, they have a lot more power than she ever had.
And that’s why we may end up facing a constitutional crisis. That’s the event horizon - nobody knowns what happens when we pass it.
Unfortunately, the major unions are decidedly apolitical and have resisted taking part. What we have been seeing is members of the IDF reserves corps stating that they will refuse to serve, including as of today hundreds of fighter pilots. This is unprecedented, and considering how the Israeli military is based on its reserves as much as it is on its regular forces, this can have a real strategic impact. We can only hope (at 48 years old, I was discharged from the reserves years ago).
I guess I’m not up on all my Jewish laws. Why would it matter if someone who isn’t religious brought crackers into a hospital? Is the concern they will force feed them to others? Is the mere presence of such crackers a problem?
It sounds less like a slippery slope and more like a precipice. Thank you for your insight, and for what it’s worth my wishes that this doesn’t come to pass.
American Jews make a thing of it, enlisting children to search for unleavened crumbs before Passover, and winning prizes.
Some people may find it offensive for someone else to have leavened stuff around that they may inadvertently consume. Flour getting into their food, or being inhaled, etc.
It’s the fear that crumbs will “contaminate” the hospital and expose observant Jews to non-kosher food, and yes, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds - and I say that as someone who keeps kosher for Passover. It’s a power play, pure and simple. It’s a way of saying, “This country is ours, not yours.”
Shit appears to be getting real on the news. Netanyahu fired his Defense Minister after the latter opposed the judicial reforms, and now protesters have overwhelmed barriers around Netanyahu’s house.
If the legislature passes a law that removes the court’s ability to invalidate laws, and the court invalidates that law, then what you have is a full-fledged constitutional crisis. Those have a distressing tendency to turn into civil wars or worse.
Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, a respected former general and one of teh few moderates left in the government, asked the Netanyahu to place the legislation on hold, claiming that the protests and unrest in the armed forces were posing a major threat to national security. So Bibi fired him.
Several senior diplomats tendered their resignation, the major unions said they would be announcing a general strike, the crowds got within 2 meters of the Prime Minister’s residents, and a hundred thousand people spilled out onto the streets in central Tel Aviv. They’re lighting bonfires on the freeways. It’s going to be a long night
And I’m just now planning a trip to Israel this August, and wondering if I’m making a big mistake. Of course, one of the reasons I’ve never been to Israel is that it always seems like a bad time.
And I’m on team “legislating searches to keep leavened bread out of hospitals is freaking terrifying”. As i prepare to celebrate Passover, when i will abstain from leavened bread.
Heh, I’d been planning on Peru this summer, and when the protests broke out there, I decided that Israel sounded like a pretty a good Plan B. Now I’m afraid of what I might unleash when I move on to Plan C…