Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US media on Thursday it is “silly” to claim his unpopular judicial reforms will mark the end of democracy in Israel.
Netanyahu insists the reforms are necessary to reel in a judicial branch he said is “the most activist judicial court on the planet.”
He further claimed “millions of Israelis” support the reform because they “feel that they’re going to the polls, they’re voting in a government, voting for policies that are then nullified by a judiciary,” adding that he does not think that situation “is right for democracy.”
However, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets since before the start of the year, protesting the judicial reforms.
Recent polling taken by Israeli media found Netanyahu’s approval rating dropped to 38% and less than a quarter of Israelis support his reforms. Another poll determined that if elections were held today, the governing coalition would lose 11 or 12 seats in the 120-seat Knesset while Netanyahu’s Likud party specifically would lose between four to seven seats.
The governing coalition currently holds 64 seats, with the Likud party holding 32. Additionally, more than a quarter of Israelis say they have considered leaving the country due to the reforms and more than half fear they could result in a civil war.
Israelis have continued protesting the reforms, including during at least 29 consecutive Saturdays in Tel Aviv. Protesters took to the streets again on Monday after the first bill of Netanyahu’s reforms cleared the legislative body.
Four of the nation’s largest newspapers have taken part in demonstrations by blacking out their entire front pages and only including the phrase “A black day for Israeli democracy” printed at the bottom.
The military has also expressed concerns about the reforms, saying it may discourage Israelis from enlisting and some reservists have indicated they will not serve if called while the reforms are being pushed.
Activist group Movement for Quality Government said in a Monday statement that it will challenge the law, saying it “fundamentally changes the basic structure of Israeli parliamentary democracy and the nature of the regime, while de facto abolishing the judiciary and seriously damaging the delicate fabric of the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances in the State of Israel."
In Jerusalem, hundreds of thousands of protesters clashed with police after the bill’s passage. Some officers were mounted on horses and utilized water cannons. Authorities said nearly 40 people were arrested and 10 police officers were assaulted. Video footage from the event shows police officers beating protesters bloody with batons.
Although US President Joe Biden earlier called on Netanyahu to slow down the process, the Israeli official has vowed to move forward on the controversial reforms with or without the support of the opposition. Netanyahu had initially held off on the initiative for a few months.
“I’m more optimistic now than I was before,” Netanyahu said while discussing compromise with the opposition. “Now that they can see that we’re prepared to move without them, we have the majority, maybe we’ll be able to move with them.”