Israel's political divisions redrawn by protest movement
Israel's political divisions redrawn by protest movement
Published : Friday, 7 April, 2023 at 12:00 AM
Count : 62
JERUSALEM, Apr 6: A new political camp putting the rule of law above traditional divisions is emerging in Israel's protest movement, which has united an array of opponents to the government's judicial reform.
It has drawn support from both the left and the right, secular and religious groups, peace activists and military reservists, blue-collar and hi-tech workers.
Israel's traditionally deep societal divisions have been shaken up since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new hard-right government launched its controversial plan to overhaul the justice system.
And even though the veteran leader pushed the pause button on the plan last week, in the face of new protests and a general strike, opponents are sceptical this was anything more than a stalling tactic.
Netanyahu's government, which took office in December and includes extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, argues that the sweeping reforms are needed to rebalance power between the government and judiciary.
Its critics charge that weakening the Supreme Court will destroy the checks and balances that are designed to keep politicians accountable and are crucial to a healthy liberal democracy.
The months-long protests have also included feminist and LGBTQ rights activists who are fearful of how hardline religious groups seek to reshape Israeli society.
"It's the first time that there's really a mass movement that can gather communities that until now had nothing in common: people from the left and from the moderate right, secular and religious critics, Jews and Arabs," said Eva Illouz, a sociologist at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.
"A lot of people don't want to live in a country that denies in an explicit way -- declared and legal -- the rights of minorities," she said Israeli officials often praise the country founded in 1948 as the "only democracy in the Middle East".
But critics inside and outside the country point at the discrimination suffered by the Arab minority, around 20 percent of the population, and the decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories. AFP
Friday, April 7, 2023 at 12:00 am