King Bibi succumbed to the pressure. After delaying his appearance and keeping all of Israel in awe, Benjamin Netanyahu agreed yesterday to postpone the controversial “judicial reform” until July, given the growing signs of an internal bankruptcy with unpredictable consequences.
“Due to the growing conflict between the two sides, I responded to demands to lower the tension. I give time to the negotiation to prevent a civil conflict”, assured the Israeli prime minister, who boasted of his pactist character despite his constant refusals to paralyze the legislative process. “I demand an immediate stop to calls for insubordination. Those who promote anarchy and violence intend to divide the country”, he continued. After recalling the “absolute majority and great popular support” of the right, he stated that “we will not give up on the reform, but we will pursue a broader agreement”. Israel’s main union, the General Union of Workers (Histadrut), suspended the general strike that was still called for this Tuesday.
Netanyahu had planned to make the announcement early, but his speech was delayed by pressure from his far-right allies, who threatened to break up the coalition if he froze the legislative process. The extreme right agreed to postpone the culmination of the reform until the summer, in exchange for the formation of a “national guard” to reinforce the police. Its functions were not clear, but some warned that it will be a political militia to suppress dissidents or Palestinians.
“Emergency situation. This afternoon, all in Jerusalem. The elections will not be stolen from us”, announced enraged Likud supporters.
From La Família, a hooligan group from the Beitar football club, they promoted physical attacks against anti-government protesters in Tel-Aviv. In the previous days, there were already attempts to run over during the road closures.
“Where were you on the night of March 26?” asked Israeli tweeters, who shared images of a Sunday night considered historic. The sudden dismissal of the Minister of Defense, Yoav, led to a spontaneous outburst of collective anger. After a Saturday in which the marches for the twelfth consecutive week were the most crowded in Israel’s 75-year history, Sunday night left images of fires, blocked roads and riots. Chaos spread in Jerusalem: the masses broke through the police cordons and managed to approach the prime minister’s personal residence.
The central committee of the anti-government protests already anticipated a “week of national shutdown”, but what happened yesterday exceeded expectations. Universities closed their doors, flights at Ben Gurion International Airport were halted, banks and shops lowered their shutters, and the main unions called a total strike in the productive sector.
During the morning, tens of thousands of people filled trains and buses to surround the Knesset. “We will not allow any solution that damages the independence of the Supreme Court”, they promised.
The chain of consequences to Gallant’s dismissal began on Sunday night, with the resignation of the consul general of Israel in New York. Yesterday all Israeli diplomatic missions abroad stopped their activity in protest against the Government. Boaz Ben Zur, one of the lawyers defending Netanyahu in the three criminal cases he is facing, announced that he will leave his role if the reform is not stopped.
Impotence spread among the right-wing bases. “My votes are of no use, the majority of 64 deputies in Parliament is fictitious. Twelve weeks ago the left paralyzed the country, in an alliance of all institutions, employers, the press and unions against the Government. The Deep State is on the move,” opined Ishai.
Supporters of the Executive allege that the corporate reform – which aims to annul the powers of the Supreme Court and grant the political power full powers to select judges – will contribute to a greater ideological representation of the country in the institutions.
For years, the Likud promoted the mantra that the judiciary is a closed elite, which defines the nation’s destiny by ignoring the will of democratically elected politicians. “We will not allow the legislation to stop, it would be surrendering to coercion”, warned Amichai Eliyahu, of the ultra-right Jewish Power.
Despite the turbulence, yesterday morning the Knesset Justice Committee approved the proposed law to control the selection of judges, which in order to be applied needs a final vote, postponed until further notice. From the Executive they continued to boast of “a balanced law, since in all democracies the people elect the judges”. The opposition predicted that the fight to defend democracy will be long and will require more resilience.
“The whole nation is deeply concerned. Security, the economy and society are under threat”, implored President Isaac Herzog again. And he reminded Netanyahu: “The eyes of the citizens of Israel, of all Jews and of the whole world are looking at you. To save our unity, I demand that you immediately stop the legislative process”. From the diaspora, the European Jewish Congress (representative of Jewish communities in more than 40 countries) called for “the immediate suspension of the proposed legislation. The Jewish State is too important for us, and it is very painful to witness this division, which gives wings to our enemies”.
For the leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, Bibi dismissed the Minister of Defense for “speaking the truth. He did not give an ultimatum, he only warned of the collapse of the armed forces due to a Government unable to see reality”. The centrist leader believes that “we have never been so close to disintegrating”.
After approving last week a law shielding a prime minister in office in the event of a conflict of interest – he can only be revoked if three quarters of the cabinet vote for him -, the Government intended to culminate this week the bulk of the ” judicial reform”. Before the beginning of the holiday of Pessah, which commemorates the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, today many are demanding freedom from the leader who deeply divided the people of Israel.
