Three weeks after Benjamin Netanyahu's government voted for the first stage of its judicial reform program, opponents are taking stock. "The vote was a hard blow. Some have had their spirits broken, others are thinking of leaving the country. But all the organizations are convinced that this is only the first step in a marathon," said Alon-Lee Green, co-director of the Arab-Jewish Israeli group Standing Together.
Green was referring to the Knesset's vote on July 24 of an amendment to one of Israel's Basic Laws, which serves as the country's constitution. The amendment put an end to the "reasonableness" clause, thanks to which the Supreme Court could overturn government decisions deemed unreasonable. Judicial reform as a whole sparked protests on a scale never before seen in Israel's history: Every week for seven months, hundreds of thousands of people (in a country with a population of 9 million) took to the streets. According to opinion polls, most people still disapprove of the legislation.
This did not stop Netanyahu's government from pushing ahead, ignoring attempts at mediation and compromise. He managed to impose the bill with a wafer-thin majority, thanks to the 64 votes of the current coalition out of 120 MPs. The bill's passage by force was more shocking than the provision itself. The initial draft, unveiled by Justice Minister Yariv Levin in January, was far more ambitious. It included an override clause that would have allowed Parliament to override Supreme Court rulings by a simple majority vote.
"Yariv Levin couldn't go through with his fantasies. If there had been no active opposition, he could have done what he wanted. Over the last seven months, there have been victories and defeats. The main damage is to Israeli society. On the positive side, the liberal camp has grown in strength and confidence in its values. This is a source of hope in these difficult times," said a member of an opposition party. "These months of struggle have enabled us to take action, to get to know each other, to create databases, to set up groups in every town. This infrastructure and determination were lacking in the liberal camp, which is now aware that it's make or break," said Green, in an allusion to the next stages of the reform. "This is the last battle."
This could take a long time. The majority is banking on the protest movement running out of steam. The opposition is betting on the collapse of the coalition. The societal backlash comes from some 200 organizations, each defending its own interests, identity and points of view: They include left-wing parties, right-wing parties, liberals, religious groups, LGBT groups and reservists. "A collection of groups, bringing together very different people under the banner of democracy. It's difficult to translate this into political action," said Gideon Rahat, a researcher at the Democratic Institute of Israel. Rahat does not believe in the structuring of a liberal camp in the short term.
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