The Judicial Overhaul That Has Torn Israeli Society Apart
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 24 July 2023
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The law strips Israel's Supreme Court of a key check on the power of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. This marks the first big move in a broader effort to weaken court oversight of senior officials. It comes after six months of protests from Israelis concerned that their government will have unchecked power. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is defending it, saying this law is the essence of democracy and will allow the elected government – his government – to carry out its agenda.
We hear from concerned protestors outside Israeli parliament — many citizens are afraid that their way of life is in danger.
Dahlia Scheindlin is a political analyst from Tel Aviv, she explains what this new Israeli law says about the state of democracy there.
In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | We've been hijacked by elections. They are legislating things that they are not allowed |
| 0:17.0 | to legislate, changing of the system itself. |
| 0:20.6 | A historic and polarizing day in Israel. Israeli psychologist Mika Weiss is among those protesting. |
| 0:28.8 | Israel's far-right government passed a law today to weaken a key power of the judiciary, |
| 0:34.7 | despite public outrage. Before the vote, protesters were hoping for a compromise to keep the law from passing. |
| 0:40.6 | I do hope that at the end there will be some kind of compromise with the opposition, but it's not |
| 0:48.0 | sure that that will happen and it will not happen. We will be beginning the dictatorship. |
| 0:55.7 | The measure passed uncontested. After lawmakers who opposed it walked out in protest. The law strips |
| 1:02.4 | Israel's Supreme Court of A key check on the power of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. |
| 1:08.0 | It prevents judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are unreasonable. |
| 1:14.4 | This marks the first big move in a broader effort to weaken court oversight of senior officials. |
| 1:21.0 | Netanyahu is defending it, saying this law is the essence of democracy and will allow the |
| 1:27.0 | elected government, his government, to carry out its agenda. This is the moment that hundreds of |
| 1:32.6 | thousands of protesters had been fearing for months. Arbel Muayal protested outside parliament today. |
| 1:39.0 | I'm feeling horrible. Everyone is feeling horrible. The law is best. They want to make Israel full of |
| 1:44.0 | dictatorship. They want to pass laws that will discriminate LGBT, they'll discriminate |
| 1:49.0 | Palestinians, discriminate the Supreme Court and discriminate all the human rights. |
| 1:55.0 | Many Israelis are afraid their way of life is in danger. The judicial overhaul has torn |
| 2:01.1 | Israeli society apart. Coming up, we look at what this new Israeli law says about the state of |
| 2:07.2 | democracy there. It's considered this for MNPR. I'm Mary Louise Kelly. It's Monday, July 24th. |
| 2:17.7 | It's considered this for MNPR. Protesters say Israel's democracy is under threat and that the new |
| 2:24.6 | law limiting the Supreme Court's authority gives Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu too much power |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.