As soon as Israel’s new government was sworn into office last December, with Benjamin Netanyahu at the helm for the sixth time, the sweeping reforms to the justice system were dominating headlines that the new coalition was proposing under the title of protecting democracy and fighting "judicial activism."

The veteran politician has assembled the most far-right Cabinet in Israel’s history, with notable posts given to ultranationalists: Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is the new minister of national security and Bezalel Smotrich, who will have significant power over Israeli settlements in addition to his role as finance minister. The government has promised to expand those settlements and weaken the authority of the judiciary, calling for stricter definitions of who qualifies as Jewish. It also made its larger vision clear, releasing policy guidelines of the Jewish people’s "exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the land of Israel."

Revamping the judicial system has long been a goal of Israeli right-wing parties, especially for those on the far right. However, until recent elections, this reform was mostly discussed within small circles and was never a central part of any campaign. Yet last November, Religious Zionist Party head Smotrich, along with fellow party member attorney Simcha Rothman, published their platform for a revised judicial system.

Formally called "The Plan for Law and Justice to Amend the Justice System and Strengthen Israeli Democracy," it has been dubbed by many in the media as "The Plan to Destroy Democracy and Save Netanyahu" as the proposed plan would not only change the balance of power between Israeli politicians and the legal system, it also includes provisions to nullify laws regarding breach of trust by public officials: The same provisions that Prime Minister Netanyahu is currently on trial for violating and this plan would essentially provide him with a "get out of jail free card."

Netanyahu is on trial in three serious corruption cases of fraud, breach of trust and bribery. He denies wrongdoing and says the charges were fabricated in a political coup led by the police and state prosecution.

Announced judicial changes

Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced earlier the new government’s long-promised overhaul of the judicial system, a wide-ranging and highly controversial overhaul of Israel’s judicial and legal system which, if enacted, would amount to arguably the most drastic changes ever to Israel’s system of government. These proposals, even if only partly adopted and implemented, would constitute a constitutional revolution and lead to a crisis in the Israeli legal system.

The changes set out by Levin during a news conference at the Knesset would severely limit the authority of the High Court of Justice, give the government control over the judicial selection committee and significantly limit the authority of government legal advisers.

The justice minister, a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party, specified changes in four core areas: Restricting the High Court’s capacity to strike down laws and government decisions by requiring an enlarged panel of the court’s judges and a "special majority" to do so; an "override clause" enabling the Knesset to re-legislate such laws unless all 15 justices unanimously ruled to strike them down; changing the process for choosing judges, to give the government of the day effective control of the selection panel; and preventing the court from using a test of "reasonableness" against which to judge legislation and government decisions and allowing ministers to appoint their own legal advisers, instead of getting counsel from advisers operating under the Justice Ministry aegis.

His "long overdue" reform, Levin said, was aimed at "strengthening democracy, rehabilitating governance, restoring faith in the judicial system and rebalancing the three branches of government."

Fierce debate

The proposed legislation has sparked a fierce debate in Israel, with tens of thousands of citizens protesting against it weekly across the country. Opponents say it would undermine the country's system of checks and balances and endanger democratic values while Israeli opposition figures, activists and critics have warned that plans to curb the powers of the Supreme Court will pose a serious threat to democracy and that such a move will undermine the independence of the judiciary and could be used for political ends.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid, who was defeated by Netanyahu in November's elections, said they amounted to "a unilateral revolution against the system of government in Israel."

The new government was "threatening to destroy the entire constitutional structure" of the state, he warned, vowing that he would reverse the reforms "the moment we return to power."

Netanyahu's former coalition partner and alternate prime minister, Benny Gantz, said the reforms meant that Israel had "a government that with its majority controls the Knesset, and now together they will control the court."

Israelis abroad also protested with dozens in Boston, Barcelona and Toronto expressing concern in their cities, calling to save Israeli democracy.

On the other hand, the proposed revamp has faced rare public criticism from Supreme Court President Esther Hayut, who has branded it an "unbridled attack" on the legal system. Besides, Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron warned Netanyahu of harming Israel's credit score due to the judicial reform.

"The world is worriedly following the developments that may distance international companies from investing in the country," he said.

Yaron referred to the challenges facing Israel's economy in his review, both locally and from an international perspective. He also made it clear to the prime minister the various issues that arose in the Israeli context in the discussions he had with the senior officials of the global economy, as well as with the senior officials of the rating companies in recent weeks. Besides, former Bank of Israel Governors Karnit Flug and Yaakov Frankel issued similar warnings against the judicial reforms.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli high-tech workers protested against the proposed judicial overhaul, claiming the government's controversial plans will hurt the flourishing sector by undermining the rule of law and that the industry would suffer if foreign firms lost confidence in Israel's legal system and democratic principles.

In another move, some 50 leading professors from mainly Ivy League universities in the United States published a letter, slamming Netanyahu's intent to overhaul Israel's judicial system.

The professors claim the announced legislative changes brought forth by Levin earlier would weaken the independence of Israel's judiciary. "We, law professors in the United States who care deeply about Israel, strongly oppose the effort by the current Israeli government to radically overhaul the country’s legal system," the professors said in their public letter.

"This effort includes proposed reforms that would grant the ruling coalition absolute power to appoint Justices and judges, make it almost impossible for the Supreme Court to invalidate legislation, severely limit judicial review of executive-branch decisions, and curtail the independence of the Attorney General and legal advisers assigned to different government agencies," they wrote.

"Weakening it would pose a dire risk to freedom of expression, to human and civil rights, and to efforts to reduce corruption, making it harder for Israel to survive challenges going forward."

They concluded their letter with the hope that for Israel's sake, the government will decide to take a wiser path.

The plan will also have consequences for the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as the Israeli Supreme Court has been the only institution that Palestinians in the West Bank can go to defend their rights, mainly regarding land disputes with Israeli settlers and if the plan is implemented. It will make it easier for the government to legislate in favor of illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank without worrying about challenges in the Supreme Court.

However, Israel has previously highlighted the power of the court to rule against it, as a way of blunting international criticism of such moves.

*Palestinian author, researcher and freelance journalist; recipient of two prizes from the Palestinian Union of Writers