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What’s going on in Israel?
That’s a question on many people’s minds after strikes and protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul rocked the country Sunday and Monday. Google searches along the lines of “why are people protesting in Israel” spiked more than 5,000% on Monday based on news reports of unrest across the country.
Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires, while police scuffled with protesters who gathered outside Netanyahu’s private home in Jerusalem. And the situation has grounded flights, closed banks and government offices, and left hospitals short-staffed on Monday — not to mention leading McDonald’s
MCD,
workers in Israel to join the strike.
So, what is controversial about Netanyahu’s judicial reform? Here’s what you need to know.
Israel’s judicial reform explained
Prime Minister Netanyahu returned to power late last year after an 18-month political exile. And in retaking his leadership position, he formed the country’s most right-wing government yet with a coalition of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist allies.
So after returning to power, Netanyahu’s governing partners and some key figures in his Likud Party planned to overhaul the country’s legal system, which includes restricting the power of judges and courts. While Netanyahu’s supporters say that this will rein in an unelected judiciary, his critics worry that it will dissolve Israel’s system of checks and balances, and push the right-wing government’s ideological agendas — which would lead the country toward totalitarianism. For example, the plan gives near total control over future laws, constitutional amendments and judicial appointments to the governing coalition in parliament.
What’s more, critics say that Netanyahu has a pretty major conflict of interest in overhauling the country’s legal system, considering he’s on trial for corruption in three separate cases, and has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes.
So what sparked the recent spate of protests and strikes in Israel?
While there have been mass protests in Israel for months since Netanyahu’s confidant, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, shared the judicial reform plan last January, unrest erupted once more over the weekend after Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense minister for challenging the judicial overhaul plan.
Netanyahu’s dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant drove protestors into the streets late Sunday night into Monday morning. Gallant had called for a pause in the controversial legislation until after the country’s independence day holidays next month. He had shared concerns that these political divisions were hurting morale and creating turmoil in the military. “I see how the source of our strength is being eroded,” Gallant said. Indeed, Israel’s military reservists have joined the protests.
After Gallant was fired, Israel’s consul general in New York City, Assaf Zamir, resigned in protest. And more widespread protests were quickly organized over WhatsApp on Sunday. Within an hour, tens of thousands of people blocked Tel Aviv’s main highway on Sunday, and thousands more demonstrated outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem home.
Who is supporting the strike?
Israel’s largest trade union — which represents almost 800,000 people across sectors including healthcare, banking, government services, day care and transportation — declared a general strike on Monday.
McDonald’s said it was joining the strike in Israel, tweeting Monday that it would begin to close restaurants from noon local time (5 a.m. EST) until a total shutdown by 2 p.m. And leaders of Israel’s tech industry have also spoken out against the legal overhaul, with Eynat Guez, the CEO of human resources software firm Papaya Global, tweeting that she would be “removing all of the company’s money from the country” because of the proposed changes. And Israeli media reported two venture capital firms were doing the same.
Flights departing from Ben Gurion Airport have also been grounded as workers join the strikes, affecting thousands of travelers.
Read more: McDonald’s Israel shuts branches, as workers join general strike against judicial reforms
And Israel’s military reservists are also joining the fight. For example, all but three of the 40 reservist pilots in the Israeli Air Force Squadron 69 said they would be joining anti-government protests instead of doing training exercises, because they are not prepared to serve in what they say would be a “dictatorial regime.”
What’s next?
On Monday, Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that the plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary has been postponed until the parliament’s summer session. And Netanyahu also issued a statement announcing a delay in his judicial overhaul plan on Monday, saying he wanted “to avoid civil war” by making time to seek a compromise.
Read more: Netanyahu delays judicial overhaul after mass protests in Israel
The Biden administration, which is closely allied with Israel, has been watching these developments. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the United States was “deeply concerned” by the situation.
On Monday afternoon, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration welcomed the postponement as an opportunity for Israeli leaders to strike a compromise.
“Compromise is precisely what we have been calling for, and we continue to strongly urge Israeli leaders to find a compromise as soon as possible,” she said. “We believe that it is the best path forward for Israel and all of its citizens — to find this compromise. Democratic societies are strengthened by checks and balances, and fundamental changes to a democratic system should be pursued with the broadest possible base of popular support.”
Associated Press reporting contributed to this story.
