As we covered in April, Israel has become convulsed by “reforms” to the judiciary, proposed by the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government, which passed yesterday. There is now deep concern that the judiciary’s 75-year history as an institution independent and separate from the government, could be limited by the ruling political party of the day. Critics of Netanyahu say the changes remove important checks on the executive’s authority and could be open to abuse. Proponents say the reforms will cool the judiciary’s alleged “overreach”.
Yesterday, Israel’s parliament ratified the first bill, after compromise efforts collapsed and opposition parties walked out in protest.
Public demonstrations against the amendment have been going on for weeks, and reached a crescendo yesterday, with protesters being dragged away from the parliament by P …
