Current:Home > NewsThousands rally in support of Israel’s judicial overhaul before a major court hearing next week-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Thousands rally in support of Israel’s judicial overhaul before a major court hearing next week
View Date:2024-12-23 16:55:48
JERUSALEM (AP) — Several thousand protesters supporting the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul rallied in front of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on Thursday, before a pivotal hearing next week on the legality of the first major bill of the overhaul.
The bill, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition passed in July, bans the Supreme Court from striking down government decisions it deems unreasonable.
With leading politicians signaling they won’t respect a court decision striking down the law, the stage could be set for a constitutional crisis. The hearing is set for Tuesday, though a ruling is likely months away.
The pro-overhaul crowd Thursday was overwhelmingly religious, many of them working class Jews of Mizrahi, or Middle Eastern, descent. Others came in from West Bank settlements.
Mizrahi Jews tend to be poorer and some have expressed hostility toward what they say is an elitist class of Ashkenazi, or European, Jews. Brandishing signs with the words “end the judicial dictatorship” and “the elites are taking control,” protesters said the overhaul was necessary to rein in the power of unelected justices.
“The Supreme Court is on the way to becoming the dictator of Israel,” protester Avram Farber said. “It’s trying to push for making the Israeli government — that enjoys a majority in the parliament — to be illegitimate.”
Opponents of the overhaul, who come largely from the country’s secular middle class, see the plan as a power-grab by Netanyahu’s government that will weaken the country’s checks and balances. They fear that by limiting the power of the court, Netanyahu and his ultranationalist allies are pushing the country toward autocratic rule. Their grassroots protest movement, the largest in Israel’s history, is now nearing its ninth month.
For the first time in Israeli history, all 15 justices of the Supreme Court will hear Tuesday’s case.
The court will rule on the legality of a bill that weakens its ability to act as a check on the ruling coalition, headed by the prime minister. The bill bars the court from striking down parliamentary decisions on the basis that they aren’t “reasonable.”
The justices have used the standard in the past to nullify government decisions that they view as unsound or corrupt.
This year, for instance, the court struck down the appointment of a Cabinet minister because of prior convictions for accepting bribes and tax offenses.
The government says the reasonability standard is anti-democratic, because it allows judges to override the decisions of an elected parliamentary majority.
A poll by the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, found that just 14% of the Israeli public supports the legislation, while roughly 60% oppose it. The survey, conducted earlier this year, questioned 3,077 Israeli adults and had a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points.
If the justices strike down the law, the stage may be set for a constitutional crisis. The parliamentary speaker, Amir Ohana, hinted this week that he wouldn’t accept the court’s ruling, saying he wouldn’t allow the Knesset to be “trampled.” Netanyahu hasn’t publicly committed to following the ruling of the court, but posted Ohana’s comments to social media on Thursday.
The hearing set for Tuesday is the first of three overhaul cases on the court’s docket this month.
veryGood! (469)
Related
- Oregon's Dan Lanning, Indiana's Curt Cignetti pocket big bonuses after Week 11 wins
- 7.2-magnitude earthquake recorded in Alaska, triggering brief tsunami warning
- House Democrats plan to force vote on censuring Rep. George Santos
- Warming Trends: Climate Divide in the Classroom, an All-Electric City and Rising Global Temperatures’ Effects on Mental Health
- Jack Del Rio leaving Wisconsin’s staff after arrest on charge of operating vehicle while intoxicated
- Adam Sandler’s Sweet Anniversary Tribute to Wife Jackie Proves 20 Years Is Better Than 50 First Dates
- In a New Policy Statement, the Nation’s Physicists Toughen Their Stance on Climate Change, Stressing Its Reality and Urgency
- Pollinator-Friendly Solar Could be a Win-Win for Climate and Landowners, but Greenwashing is a Worry
- Federal judge blocks Louisiana law that requires classrooms to display Ten Commandments
- The US Nuclear Weapons Program Left ‘a Horrible Legacy’ of Environmental Destruction and Death Across the Navajo Nation
Ranking
- Timothée Chalamet Details How He Transformed Into Bob Dylan for Movie
- Rupert Murdoch says Fox stars 'endorsed' lies about 2020. He chose not to stop them
- Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on being a dad, his career and his legacy: Don't want to have any regrets
- Inside Clean Energy: The Energy Transition Comes to Nebraska
- Blake Shelton Announces New Singing Competition Show After Leaving The Voice
- Yellowstone Creator Taylor Sheridan Breaks Silence on Kevin Costner's Shocking Exit
- Inside Clean Energy: The Era of Fossil Fuel Power Plants Is Rapidly Receding. Here Is Their Life Expectancy
- Inside Clean Energy: The Energy Transition Comes to Nebraska
Recommendation
-
Gun groups sue to overturn Maine’s new three-day waiting period to buy firearms
-
Nissan recalls over 800K SUVs because a key defect can cut off the engine
-
How to score better savings account interest rates
-
Dozens of U.K. companies will keep the 4-day workweek after a pilot program ends
-
Tesla Cybertruck modifications upgrade EV to a sci-fi police vehicle
-
A surprise-billing law loophole? Her pregnancy led to a six-figure hospital bill
-
How the cats of Dixfield, Maine came into a fortune — and almost lost it
-
Get a $64 Lululemon Tank for $19 and More Great Buys Starting at Just $9