With war raging in Gaza and protests rocking the streets of Jerusalem, the Israeli government has passed a key piece of a plan that once sparked turmoil across Israel: the judicial overhaul.
The protests against the overhaul, which dominated Israelis’ attention prior to Oct. 7, 2023, resumed ahead of the vote early Thursday morning. On Wednesday, thousands massed in Jerusalem, including lawmakers, as Israel’s parliament prepared to pass the law, which increases politicians’ influence over judicial appointments. The tally in Knesset, Israel’s parliament, was 67-1, as the opposition boycotted the vote en masse in protest.
The fierce debate over the law has been something of a throwback. Throughout most of 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government was focused on enacting legislation to sap the country’s Supreme Court of much of its power and independence.
The overhaul effort sparked mass protests and civil disobedience across Israel. Critics said it would deal a heavy blow to Israel’s democratic system. Supporters said it would curb an overly activist court that negated the will of Israel’s electorate.
The government passed another piece of the overhaul plan in July 2023, but the effort — and the protests against it — essentially ceased when Hamas attacked Israel, plunging the country into a hostage crisis and war. In January 2024, about three months after the war began, the Supreme Court struck down the July law.
One year later, in January 2025, the judicial overhaul came back. The new proposal, which is more moderate than the original version, was authored jointly by Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar — who has vacillated in recent years between being a Netanyahu critic and ally.
The law passed by Knesset changes the makeup of the committee that selects judges, giving more power to lawmakers and reducing the influence of sitting judges.
Previously, the nine-member committee had three judges, two independent lawyers and four politicians — two from the parliamentary opposition and two from the governing coalition. Now, the two lawyers will be appointed by politicians — one each by the coalition and opposition. Effectively, it means the coalition, the opposition and the judges will each hold three seats. It will take effect after the next Israeli elections.
Critics charge that it politicizes a process that was once based on expertise and professionalism, and weakens the judiciary in a system where there’s already little separation between the executive and legislative branches. Defenders of the proposal say that it rectifies a system in which judges could pick their own replacements.
The legislative push comes as protesters were already filling Israel’s streets. Days ago, protesters were decrying Netanyahu’s decision to end a ceasefire in Gaza — a decision they said endangered the 59 hostages still held by Hamas. They also protested his government’s moves to dismiss the attorney general and head of the Shin Bet intelligence service — which is currently investigating Netanyahu’s office for illicit dealings with Qatar.
Protesters railed Wednesday against the return of the judicial overhaul. But even amid war and domestic strife, Netanyahu’s government is newly emboldened and was able to pass the legislation. The vote comes directly after the coalition passed a budget Tuesday, which makes its survival likely until the end of its term late next year.
“We’re talking about a move that this house should be proud of,” lawmaker Simcha Rothman, one of the architects of the overhaul effort, said on the Knesset floor. “It is attentive and tries to engender that a change like this will happen with the broadest consensus possible.”
He called the protests “marginal.”
Opposition lawmakers joined the protests ahead of the vote, with some opening temporary “bureaus” amid the demonstrations. A fake “Qatari embassy” also arose, a reference to the scandal in the prime minister’s office.
Centrist leader Benny Gantz warned that the country was nearing civil war. Another centrist lawmaker, Merav Cohen, questioned why the judicial overhaul was moving forward at a time when the country was already strained by war.
“Is this what Israel needs now?” she said, according to the Times of Israel. “We have hostages in tunnels, soldiers who are putting their lives in danger, reservists being called up for the fourth and fifth time — and the thing that Netanyahu is busy with — is creating control for himself over the judicial system, and dividing the nation at a time when we need to be united.”
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