Israel's parliament approves a key part of Netanyahu's divisive judicial
overhaul
[March 28, 2025]
By JULIA FRANKEL
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s parliament on Thursday passed a key part of
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary,
angering critics who view it as a power grab by his far-right
government.
The planned overhaul sparked mass demonstrations in 2023, leaving the
country deeply divided before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that year which
triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. The revival of the plans in recent
weeks has added fuel to protests over Netanyahu's handling of the Gaza
hostage crisis and his recent moves to fire or sideline top officials.
The law passed Thursday gives the government a larger role in appointing
judges.
It would give another two of the nine seats on the Judicial Selection
Committee to lawyers chosen by the government and the opposition. Those
seats are currently held by the Israeli Bar Association. The political
appointees would have the power to veto nominations to the Supreme Court
and lower courts.
Supporters of the measure say it gives more power to elected officials.
Netanyahu, who is on trial over corruption allegations, has long
portrayed himself as the victim of a “deep state” made up of unelected
officials, as well law enforcement and hostile media.
Critics say the changes would undermine an independent body that
provides essential checks and balances. The law wouldn't take effect
until the next Knesset, and the opposition has vowed to repeal it if it
regains power.
Government views law as ‘historic and necessary change’
Debate ran through the night before the bill was passed early Thursday.
Most of Israel’s opposition boycotted the final vote, where the measure
passed 67-1. They vowed immediately to repeal it, saying in a statement
that the law “had one goal — to ensure that judges become subject to the
will of politicians.”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the architect of the judicial overhaul,
called it a “historic and necessary change” that would open the judicial
system to “everyone, including those with a different agenda, including
those from a different background.”
Petitions against the law have already been filed with the Supreme
Court.
The law constitutes a dramatic change in the “basic structure” of
parliamentary democracy in Israel, the Movement for Quality of
Government said in its petition. Eliad Shraga, chair of the group,
accused the government of “exploiting a time of war as a smokescreen to
advance a political agenda.”
The law would shift the balance of the judicial committee toward
political appointees, who would hold six seats instead of four. The
government would appoint four and the opposition would appoint two.
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In this image made from a video released by the Israeli Government
Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement
Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Israeli Government
Press Office via AP)
Critics see a threat to checks and balances
A new mechanism for breaking deadlocks over appointments would result in
more extreme candidates getting appointed, with much of the process
devolving into political bargaining, said Amichai Cohen, a
constitutional law professor and senior research fellow at the Israel
Democracy Institute.
That would undermine the courts' ability to serve as a check on
government power, he said, predicting that Levin would use the mechanism
to appoint one of the far-right justices who helped him plan the
overhaul.
“This has the potential to completely undermine the independence, the
impartiality, the professionalism of the system,” he said, adding that
judicial independence is especially important in Israel because the
country has a relatively weak system of checks and balances.
Unlike in the United States, where Congress and the courts are designed
to act as a check on the executive branch, Israel's government and
parliamentary majority work in tandem, leaving the judiciary as the main
counterbalance.
In the U.S., Congress has two houses that operate independently of the
president and can limit his power. But in Israel, the prime minister and
his majority coalition in parliament work in tandem. That leaves the
judiciary to play a large role in checking executive power in the
country.
Israel's government put the judicial overhaul on hold after the outbreak
of the war in Gaza, and in January 2024, the Supreme Court shot down
another key component that would have prevented judges from striking
down some government decisions.
The effort regained momentum this month after Israel ended its ceasefire
with Hamas and resumed its offensive. That helped solidify Netanyahu's
governing coalition, which relies on far-right parties that want to
continue the war. His government then cleared a major hurdle this week
when it passed a budget, making it more likely that it will survive
until the next planned election in October 2026.
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