‘The abyss is within touching distance’

Leaders of a protest group representing reserve soldiers and officers said that they would be escalating their actions against the government’s plans to radically curtail the power of the judiciary.

The group, known as Brothers in Arms, said they would begin to sign reservists on to a declaration of refusal to serve, which would be implemented should the government move ahead with the judicial overhaul.

It comes as hundreds of thousands of Israelis participated in nationwide demonstrations for the 11th straight Saturday night against the government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary.

“We have been protesting in the streets for 11 weeks. An executive branch with unlimited power is a dictatorship. If the laws of the dictatorship are enacted, a people’s army cannot exist. A people’s army only exists in a democracy,” said Lt. Col. (res.) Ron Scherf, one of the founders of Brothers in Arms.

Scherf, who served in an elite IDF unit, said at a press conference that if the overhaul bills are passed, “We and tens of thousands more with us will stop volunteering for reserve duty.

“The army is disintegrating before your eyes,” he said, addressing Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Last Saturday’s demonstrations were marked by numerous acts of violence against protesters.

Over 260,000 people demonstrated across the country, including 175,000 in Tel Aviv, 20,000 in Haifa, 4000 in Netanya, 11,500 in Herzliya, 18,000 in Kfar Saba, and 6000 in Beersheba, according to Channel 13 news. Approximately 10,000 protesters rallied outside the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

Protest organisers vowed to escalate demonstrations, declaring Thursday a “national day of paralysis”.

“Next week Israel’s government intends to pass the dictatorship and religious coercion law,” they said in a statement on Saturday.

“Every citizen must come out and take a stand in these fateful moments of the State of Israel. Together, hundreds of thousands will save Israeli democracy.”

Senior Finance Ministry officials on Monday warned the proposed judicial overhaul could stunt the country’s growth, resulting in a severe loss of tax revenue and do “very significant harm” to the economy. The shekel hit 3.7 per US dollar in intraday trading this week, its weakest level in four years.

US President Joe Biden raised his concerns with the judicial overhaul during a “candid and constructive” phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, according to a senior US administration official.

Biden reiterated previously voiced US calls for Israel’s government to secure “as broad a consensus as possible” for the fundamental changes. He also expressed support for Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s efforts toward a compromise between the hardline coalition and the wide-ranging opposition.

Herzog last week presented an alternative framework to the contentious package of legislation, warning of dire consequences in the absence of a consensus.

“Those who think that a real civil war, with human lives, is a border we won’t cross, have no idea.” In Israel’s 75th year, “the abyss is within touching distance,” Herzog said.

His reform proposal, drafted after hundreds of hours of deliberations in recent weeks with politicians, jurists and experts from across the political spectrum, was quickly rejected by the coalition.

As the legislative push continued, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, its chief architect, warned the High Court of Justice on Monday against intervening to strike down a new coalition proposal that will cement its control over the selection of judges, including High Court justices.

The intervention of the court, should it step in to strike down the legislation once it passes, “would be completely unjustified”.

“In my opinion, it would mark the crossing of every red line. We certainly won’t accept it,” warned Levin.

Speaking with the pro-Netanyahu Channel 14, Levin asserted that changes to the legislation – introduced late Sunday night by MK Simcha Rothman and slightly updated on Monday morning – have addressed critics’ concerns that the proposal will lead to a constitutional crisis, and should allay their fears that the coalition’s true aim is to give itself absolute power to determine the makeup of the courts.

Levin, a close Likud colleague of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said he was determined to “fully complete” the entire package of sweeping reform after the Knesset’s Passover break. “We’ll pass the law on the Judicial selection committee before the end of this session. In less than two weeks, we will be in a completely different situation as regards the judicial system.”

Meanwhile, a bill was advanced on Monday to enable Shas leader Aryeh Deri to return to his ministerial posts, after the High Court of Justice ruled his position was unreasonable in the extreme due to a recent criminal conviction.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid decried the bill as “a happy day for criminals”.

TIMES OF ISRAEL