Protests rock Israel as legislature curbs Supreme Court
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 25 July 2023
⏱️ 8 minutes
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Summary
Yesterday, Israel’s parliament ratified the first bill of a judicial overhaul sought by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, setting off demonstrations and protests across the country. The bill takes away the Israeli Supreme Court’s ability to nullify government decisions it finds “unreasonable in the extreme.”
Supporters say this power was nebulous and enabled liberal judges to overturn the will of the electorate. Critics say the overhaul would reduce judicial oversight over the cabinet and give the government greater powers without necessary accountability.
A political scientist at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem calls the conflict “a clash between the Israelis and the Jews,” with the Israelis representing the founders who envisioned a secular Zionist state and the Jews representing those who want to rebuild the Jewish kingdom that reigned over the land two thousand years ago.
“It’s a clash between a more civil identity and a more religious identity,” he adds.
Should this sound familiar to Americans?
Author: Jim Denison, PhD
Narrator: Chris Elkins
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Read The Daily Article: https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/protests-rock-israel-as-legislature-curbs-supreme-court/
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Thank you for joining us for the Daily Article podcast. Today is Tuesday, July the 25th, |
| 0:07.6 | 2023. Today's article is written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins of the Denison Forum. |
| 0:15.7 | Yesterday, Israel's Parliament ratified the first bill of a judicial overhaul sought by Prime Minister |
| 0:22.8 | Benjamin Netanyahu setting off demonstrations and protests across the country. The amendment is part of a |
| 0:29.4 | broader set of judicial changes the government announced after it was sworn in last January. |
| 0:35.0 | When I was last in Israel, this controversy was a constant subject of |
| 0:38.9 | conversation with my Jewish friends. Their country has been racked by months of unprecedented |
| 0:44.2 | nationwide protests. Protest leaders now say that thousands of volunteer military reservists |
| 0:50.3 | will not report for duty if the government continues with its plans, warning that Israel's |
| 0:55.4 | war readiness could be at risk. Israel's stock market tumbled as much as 2.5% after Monday's vote was |
| 1:02.8 | announced, some of the nation's largest companies went on strike, and two of its largest malls |
| 1:08.9 | since stores in their shopping centers would remain closed. |
| 1:12.9 | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation Monday night, |
| 1:16.8 | suggesting tabling the broader judicial overhaul until November |
| 1:20.8 | and seeking to foster consensus amid one of the most turbulent moments in Israel's contemporary history. |
| 1:27.4 | The bill takes away the |
| 1:28.6 | Israeli Supreme Court's ability to nullify government decisions it finds unreasonable in the extreme. |
| 1:35.3 | Supporters say this power was nebulous and enabled liberal judges to overturn the will of the |
| 1:41.8 | electorate. They also claim that the bill will give elected lawmakers |
| 1:46.0 | greater autonomy over unelected judges, allowing them to more easily carry out the policies |
| 1:51.9 | they were elected to enact and thus improving democracy. Critics say the overhaul would |
| 1:57.3 | reduce judicial oversight over the cabinet and give the government greater powers |
... |
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