Critics say Israeli judicial reform would end checks on Orthodox Jewish establishment.
Note to Readers:
The article below reports a proposal by conservative Israeli lawmakers to overrule the authority of the Israeli Supreme Court. This appears to be the kind of movement that Christian Nationalists have made to stack the US Supreme Court with conservative judges. It may anticipate what could happen in America if Christian Nationalists gain full control of the US government — including state and federal courts.
JERUSALEM (RNS) — Susan Weiss, an Israeli activist, worries that proposed judicial reform that would grant Israeli lawmakers the right to overrule the country’s Supreme Court would greatly broaden the reach of Israel’s Orthodox Jewish establishment.
“We think the state should not be in charge of religion. The state should not pick and choose which expression of Judaism they think is authentic,” said Weiss, one of an estimated 300,000 Israelis who flooded the streets outside the country’s High Court on Monday (Feb. 13) to protest the proposed bills.
If successful, the proposed reform would allow a slim majority of lawmakers — just 61 of 120 in the Knesset — to reverse High Court decisions. It would also give parliamentarians the final say on who can serve as a judge.
Weiss and many others fear that the proposed judicial overhaul would allow the religious parties that make up a crucial swing vote in Israel’s Knesset, or parliament, to impose fervently religious norms on Israel’s non-Orthodox majority.
“I’m here for my grandchildren. I want them to live in a country that’s democratic and protects the civil liberties of all its citizens,” said Weiss, whose organization has argued cases on behalf of women’s rights before the High Court.
Supporters of the reforms consider them a necessary step to “rein in” the judiciary, according to the Israel Democracy Institute. Over the decades, the court has repeatedly challenged the authority of Israel’s religious institutions in favor of religious pluralism.
Critics of the reforms “fear that the removal of the only effective check on executive power in Israel will jeopardize civil liberties, economic prosperity, and Israel’s international standing,” the institute said.