Tag: Isaac Herzog

Mass protests are a ‘tribute’ to Israel’s democracy, President Herzog tells US Congress

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Israeli President Isaac Herzog sought to reassure Congress on Wednesday about the state of Israel’s democracy and the strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship, acknowledging “intense and painful debate” at home over actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government. 

Herzog, whose post in Israel is largely symbolic, became the second Israeli president, after his father, Chaim Herzog, to address Congress. While his speech officially marked modern Israel’s celebration of its 75th year, he also indirectly addressed deep unease in the Biden administration and among Democratic lawmakers over the Netanyahu government’s controversial overhaul of Israel’s judicial system, expanded Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, and other matters.

The divide was reflected in his audience. While lawmakers repeatedly rose to their feet in thundering applause of Herzog’s recounting of Israel’s founding, a handful of leading young progressive Democrats boycotted his speech. 

On the eve of Herzog’s speech to the joint meeting of Congress, the House passed a Republican-led resolution reaffirming its support for Israel with strong bipartisan approval — an implicit rebuke of Rep. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who over the weekend called the country a “racist state” but later apologized.

“Mr. Speaker, I am not oblivious to criticism among friends, including some expressed by respected members of this House. I respect criticism, especially from friends, although one does not always have to accept it,” Herzog said.

“But criticism of Israel must not cross the line into negation of the state of Israel’s right to exist. Questioning the Jewish people’s right to self-determination, is not legitimate diplomacy, it is antisemitism.”

The House resolution, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, passed with more than 400 lawmakers backing the measure. It did not mention Jayapal by name but was clearly a response to her recent remarks about Israel. The measure was drafted soon after she criticized Israel and its treatment of Palestinians at a conference on Saturday.

Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, walked back the comments the next day, insisting they were aimed at Netanyahu and not at Israel. 

“I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist,” Jayapal said in a statement. “I do, however, believe that Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the only Palestinian-American in Congress, is boycotting Herzog’s speech and criticized the resolution as normalizing violence against those living in the occupied West Bank, given the Netanyahu government’s approval of expanded Jewish settlements there. 

“We’re here again reaffirming Congress’ support for apartheid,” Tlaib said during floor debate Tuesday on the Republican measure. “Policing the words of women of color who dare to speak up about truths, about oppression.” 

After the speech to Congress, Herzog was to return to the White House on Wednesday to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris. Her office said the leaders will announce that both governments intend to spend $70 million over five years to support climate-smart agriculture programs. 

During an Oval Office meeting with President Joe Biden on Tuesday, Herzog sought to assure him that Israel remains committed to democracy amid deepening U.S. concerns over Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul his country’s judicial system.

Netanyahu and his allies say the overhaul is needed to rein in the powers of unelected judges. Opponents say the plan will destroy Israel’s fragile system of checks and balances and move the country toward authoritarian rule. 

Herzog has appealed for a compromise that has thus far proven elusive. Many American Jewish groups and Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns about the plan.

Herzog’s visit comes weeks after Israeli forces carried out one of their most intensive operations in the occupied West Bank in two decades, with a two-day air and ground offensive in Jenin, a militant stronghold. Senior members of Netanyahu’s government have been pushing for increased construction and other measures to cement Israel’s control over the occupied West Bank in response to a more than yearlong wave of violence with the Palestinians.

U.S. officials have broadly supported Israel’s right to defend itself from militant attacks but have also urged restraint to minimize harm to civilians and have lobbied against additional settlements that would further diminish the chances of securing a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Just before Herzog’s visit, Biden spoke with Netanyahu by phone and invited him to meet in the U.S. this fall, although the president expressed reservations about several of the policies from Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition.

The Biden administration declined to say whether Biden would host Netanyahu at the White House — as the Israeli leader has hoped — or in New York on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in September.

White House visits are typically standard protocol for Israeli prime ministers, and the delay in Netanyahu receiving one has become an issue in Israel, with opponents citing it as a reflection of deteriorating relations with the U.S.

On Wednesday, Herzog evoked what are now 28 weeks of large grassroots protests at home against the proposed judicial overhaul by Netanyahu’s government, a mix of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist parties.

“Dear friends, it’s no secret that over the past few months, the Israeli people have engaged in a heated and painful debate” while “renegotiating the balance of our institutional powers,” he said.

“In practice, the intense debate going on back home, even as we speak, is the clearest tribute to the fortitude of Israel’s democracy,” Herzog said.

(AP)

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Explained | Why are Israelis protesting the government’s proposed judicial reforms?

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The story so far: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on March 27 that he would temporarily freeze his judicial overhaul plans to seek a compromise following widespread demonstrations and a general strike that paralysed the Jewish nation.

Mr. Netanyahu, 73, said he ordered the “timeout” on the legislation till the Knesset (Parliament) recess was over, “to give a real opportunity for real dialogue”. He urged protestors “to behave responsibly and refrain from violence” as thousands of Israelis protested the reforms, including workers from a range of sectors, and descended into Jerusalem.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on the government to stop the judicial overhaul, a day after Mr. Netanyahu fired defence minister Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for opposing the judicial reforms. Mr. Herzog warned that the move put the country’s security, economy and society under threat, and called on the government to set aside political considerations for the sake of the nation.

Mr. Netanyahu fired Defence Minister Yoav Gallant after he said in televised address on Saturday night that the judicial overhaul “poses a clear, immediate, and tangible threat to the security of the state”. This intensified protests, with tens of thousands taking to the street on Sunday night.

The protests

In Tel Aviv, protesters blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires. They also gathered outside Mr. Netanhayu’s home in Jerusalem and clashed with police. Two protesters entered the Knesset building and shouted at Education Minister Yoav Kisch that he should resign, before being taken away by security.

The protests have mainly been organised by common people with no declared political affiliation, although the Opposition has expressed support for their cause.

On Monday, Arnon Bar-David, the head of Israel’s largest labour federation Histadrut, announced a “historic” labour strike to “stop the madness” of the government’s controversial judicial overhaul. The National Student and Youth Council, which represents middle and high school students, too declared a nationwide strike to start on Monday morning. The council called for “halting the [overhaul] legislation and starting negotiations immediately”.

Last week, on Thursday, Israel’s ruling coalition government passed a law that would protect Mr. Netanyahu from being deemed unfit to rule because of his ongoing corruption trial, Associated Press reported. Despite thousands of reservations expressed by the Opposition and the widespread protests, the government of Israel moved ahead with the Bills to reform the country’s judiciary. According to local newspaper The Times of Israel, the controversial judicial reform Bill was expected to go to vote in the Knesset, the Israeli legislature, sometime this week.

What reforms are being planned?

Israel’s governance system is divided into three parts – the executive (consisting of the President as Chief of State, the Prime Minister as Head of the Government, and the Cabinet, selected by the Prime Minister and approved by the Knesset), the legislature (the unicameral Knesset), and the judiciary (Supreme Court and subordinate courts including district and magistrate courts, national and regional labour courts, family and juvenile courts, and special and Rabbinical courts).

The current right-wing government in Israel is a coalition of six parties led by Mr. Netanyahu. The coalition government has put forth a list of changes to Israel’s judicial system that seeks to reduce the influence of the judiciary in the country. The Bill was introduced by Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin in January 2023 and will enhance the government’s control over Israel’s judiciary.

Currently, judges in Israel are appointed by the judicial selection committee, which consists of nine members. These nine members include the Supreme Court president, two Supreme Court justices (selected by the justices from among themselves), the justice minister, one Cabinet minister, two Knesset members selected through a secret vote, and two members of the Israel Bar Association.

Appointments of all judges other than those of the Supreme Court require a simple majority, with the quorum fixed at seven. aAppointments to the Supreme Court require at least seven out of nine votes from the committee members.

The coalition’s Bill proposes to remove Israel Bar Association members from the committee. The judicial selection committee will then consist of three Cabinet ministers including the justice minister, three members of the Knesset – two from the coalition including one chair of the Constitution, law and justice committee) and one from Opposition— the Supreme Court president, and two retired lower court judges appointed by the justice minister with the agreement of the Supreme Court president. All judges, including those of the Supreme Court, will be appointed by a simple majority of five votes. Simcha Rothman, one of the brains behind the judicial reforms in Israel, is the current chair of the Constitution, law and justice committee.

If approved, the new structure gives the coalition government an automatic majority of five votes (three Cabinet ministers and two coalition members from the Knesset) and influence over which retired lower court judges are chosen for the committee. This would effectively enable the coalition government to decide who presides over Israel’s courts, thus curbing the independence of the judiciary.

The Bill also says that courts, including the Supreme Court, will not address questions on the validity of a basic law, either directly or indirectly.

It must be noted that Mr. Netanyahu was officially disallowed from pushing the coalition agenda of judicial reform by Israel’s Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara due to an ongoing corruption trial against him, as per a R euters report. Mr. Netanyahu has denied all charges of wrongdoing.

What are Basic Laws in Israel?

Israel does not have a Constitution. The country is governed by a set of laws on various subjects such as land, President, government, economy, and judiciary. These laws are called the country’s Basic Laws.

How do Bills become laws in Israel?

There is no preliminary reading for a Bill introduced by the government or a Knesset committee. It is directly submitted in the Knesset plenum for the first reading stage. A Knesset committee then prepares it for second and third readings. Once approved by the committee for these readings, the plenum holds another debate on the Bill. Following the debate, two rounds of voting – on the second and third readings – are conducted (usually in succession). Once it passes all readings in the Knesset plenum, a Bill becomes a law in the Book of Laws of the State of Israel.

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Israeli President urges PM Netanyahu to halt legal overhaul; mass protests, strike ramp up pressure

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Workers from a range of sectors in Israel launched a nationwide strike on March 27, threatening to paralyse the economy as they joined a surging protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated outside parliament and workers launched a nationwide strike on Monday, as a surging mass protest movement threatened to paralyze the economy in its efforts to halt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary.

Departing flights from the country’s main international airport were grounded, large mall chains and universities shut their doors, and Israel’s largest trade union called for its 800,000 members — in health, transit, banking and other fields — to stop work. Diplomats walked off the job at foreign missions, local governments were expected to close the preschools they run and cut other services, and the main doctors union announced its members would also strike.

The growing resistance to Netanyahu’s plan came hours after tens of thousands of people burst into the streets around the country in a spontaneous show of anger at the prime minister’s decision to fire his defense minister after he called for a pause to the overhaul. Chanting “the country is on fire,” they lit bonfires on Tel Aviv’s main highway, closing the thoroughfare and many others throughout the country for hours.

Demonstrators gathered again Monday outside the Knesset, or parliament, turning the streets surrounding the building and the Supreme Court into a roiling sea of blue-and-white Israeli flags dotted with rainbow Pride banners. Large demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Haifa and other Israeli cities drew thousands more.

“This is the last chance to stop this move into a dictatorship,” said Matityahu Sperber, 68, who joined a stream of people headed to the protest outside the Knesset. “I’m here for the fight to the end.”

Also Read | Israel passes law protecting Netanyahu as protests continue

It was unclear how Netanyahu would respond to the growing pressure. Some members of Netanyahu’s Likud party said they would support the prime minister if he did heed calls to halt the overhaul, while Israeli media, citing unnamed sources, reported that he could indeed pause it.

The plan — driven by Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, and his allies in Israel’s most right-wing government ever — has plunged Israel into one of its worst domestic crises. It has sparked sustained protests that have galvanized nearly all sectors of society, including its military, where reservists have increasingly come out publicly to say they will not serve a country veering toward autocracy.

Israel’s Palestinian citizens, however, have largely sat out the protests. Many say Israel’s democracy is tarnished by its military rule over their brethren in the West Bank and the discrimination they themselves face.

The turmoil has magnified longstanding and intractable differences over Israel’s character that have riven it since its establishment. The protesters say they are fighting for the very soul of the nation, saying the overhaul will remove Israel’s system of checks and balances and directly challenge its democratic ideals.

The government has labelled them anarchists out to topple a democratically elected leadership and says the plan will restore a balance between the judicial and executive branches and rein in what they see as an interventionist court with liberal sympathies.

At the center of the crisis is Netanyahu himself, Israel’s longest serving leader, and questions about the lengths he may be willing to go to maintain his grip on power, even as he battles charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate affairs. He denies wrongdoing.

On Monday afternoon, Netanyahu issued his first statement since he fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, urging against violence ahead of a planned counterprotest in Jerusalem organized by ultranationalist supporters of the judicial overhaul.

The counterprotest was also slated to take place outside parliament. “They won’t steal the election from us,” read a flyer for event, organized by Religious Zionist party.

“I call on all protesters in Jerusalem, right and left, to behave responsibly and not act violently,” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.

The firing of Netanyahu’s defense minister at a time of heightened security threats in the West Bank and elsewhere, appeared to be a last straw for many, including apparently the Histadrut, the country’s largest trade union umbrella group, which had sat out the monthslong protests before the defense minister’s firing.

“Where are we leading our beloved Israel? To the abyss,” Arnon Bar-David, the group’s head, said in a rousing speech to applause. “Today we are stopping everyone’s descent toward the abyss.”

On Monday, as the embers of the highway bonfires were cleared, Israel’s ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, called again for an immediate halt to the overhaul.

“The entire nation is rapt with deep worry. Our security, economy, society — all are under threat,” he said. “Wake up now!”

Also Read | Israeli group asks court to punish PM Netanyahu over legal plan

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the crisis was driving Israel to the brink.

“We’ve never been closer to falling apart. Our national security is at risk, our economy is crumbling, our foreign relations are at their lowest point ever, we don’t know what to say to our children about their future in this country,” Lapid said.

The developments were being watched by the Biden administration, which is closely allied with Israel yet has been uneasy with Netanyahu and the far-right elements of his government. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the United States was “deeply concerned” by the developments.

Netanyahu had reportedly spent the night in consultations and was set to speak to the nation, but later delayed his speech.

The architect of the plan, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a popular party member, had long promised he would resign if the overhaul was suspended. But on Monday, he said he would respect the prime minister’s decision should he halt the legislation.

Still, Netanyahu’s hard-line allies pressed him to continue on. “We must not halt the reform in the judicial system, and we must not give in to anarchy,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said.

Netanyahu’s dismissal of Gallant appeared to signal that the prime minister and his allies would barrel ahead. Gallant had been the first senior member of the ruling Likud party to speak out against it, saying the deep divisions were threatening to weaken the military.

And Netanyahu’s government forged ahead with a centerpiece of the overhaul — a law that would give the governing coalition the final say over all judicial appointments. A parliamentary committee approved the legislation on Monday for a final vote, which could come this week.

The government also seeks to pass laws that would would grant the Knesset the authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit judicial review of laws.

A separate law that would circumvent a Supreme Court ruling to allow a key coalition ally to serve as minister was delayed following a request from that party’s leader.

Netanyahu returned to power late last year after a protracted political crisis that sent Israelis to the polls five times in less than four years. The elections were all a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to serve while on trial for corruption.

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