Court-ing concern

Last year when many people in Israel and around the Jewish world, including here in Australia, raised concerns about some of the more extreme views held by members of Israel’s new government, others opined that it should be judged on what it does, not on what its members have said in the past.

We haven’t had to wait long for that opportunity.

In December, Benjamin Netanyahu promised to govern for all Israelis. But the more than 100,000 people who congregated at protests over the weekend against his right-religious coalition’s judicial reforms clearly feel the returned Prime Minister is not making good on that pledge.

As leading Israeli political science expert and former MK Professor Yossi Shain argues in this week’s AJN, the issue is not whether Israel’s court system needs reform.

It is what is proposed that is raising real concern – the erosion of the checks and balances that allow Israel’s democracy to thrive.

And it seems Netanyahu himself once agreed. “I believe that a strong, independent court allows for the existence of all other institutions in a democracy,” he said in a 2012 speech.

“I ask that you show me one dictatorship, one undemocratic society, where a strong independent court system exists. There’s no such thing.”

It is true that Netanyahu and his political allies announced they would seek judicial reform prior to the election. Some may argue they have a mandate for their proposed changes.

But there is a clear difference between getting the delicate balance right and smashing the scales to pieces.

We add our concerns to those already expressed – particularly by those in Israel who will live with the consequences of any changes – and hope a balanced outcome can still be achieved.

This is not, and should not, be a left-wing versus right-wing issue. Rather, it is about the importance of a robust, independent judicial system in upholding the rights of all citizens in Israel – the very citizens on whose behalf Netanyahu promised to govern.

At the same time, we note that Israel is unique in its region where protesters can safely take to the streets to demonstrate. Long may this be the case, but safeguarding that right begins now.