Israeli opposition slams justice minister over calls to resume judicial overhaul
Israel’s National Unity party leader MK Benny Gantz denounced Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s call for the government to resume its contentious judicial overhaul program, tweeting on Sunday morning that the initiative “brought disaster to the State of Israel, tore us apart from the inside and was a large part of how we reached October 7.”
Minister of Justice Yariv Levin speaking in the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem on July 24, 2023. Photo by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS
Levin, who was reacting on Saturday night to news of flares being thrown at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea, said “The time has come for full backing to be given to the restoration of the justice system and the law enforcement systems. There was no need for the lighting bombs to be fired tonight at the Prime Minister’s house, to understand the seriousness of the rampant violence and the refusal on the part of those who are trying to dismantle the country from within.”
Netanyahu and his family were not present. Three suspects were arrested, but a gag order remains on their identities. Investigators have not disclosed the suspects’ motives.
Gantz tweeted, “The coup d’état led by Yariv Levin brought disaster to the State of Israel, tore us apart from the inside, and has a large part in the fact that we reached Shiva in October. The fact that he brings up the idea of returning to her while the entire Israeli society is mobilized for a difficult war, proves that not only has he not learned his lesson – he is also an irresponsible person.”
In a follow-up tweet, Gantz said, “If indeed the suspicions are true and it is protest activists who are behind the firing of the light bombs at the Prime Minister’s house, it should be said clearly and unambiguously: This is not a protest – this is terrorism.”
“Although I deeply disagree with Netanyahu and often criticize him, and although I have no doubt that the people should re-elect their leaders, in recent months I have repeated and said even when there were those who attacked me for this – Netanyahu is not a murderer and is not an enemy, one should demonstrate against him and the government only according to the law.”
Before the Gaza war, the governing coalition pursued a deeply controversial judicial reform initiative that included changes to the system for appointing and removing judges, giving the Knesset the ability to override certain High Court rulings, changing the way legal advisors are appointed to government ministries, and restricting the ability of judges to apply the legal principle of “reasonableness.”
Supporters of the legal overhaul say they want to end years of judicial overreach while opponents describe the proposals as anti-democratic.
The initiative was suspended in the aftermath of October 7 when Netanyahu formed an emergency wartime government. However, Gantz and his party’s eight MKs quit the government in June and called for early elections.
