Israel's protest movement takes judicial overhaul battle to media, courts

Following the adoption on Monday by the Knesset of the "reasonableness clause" canceling the Supreme Court’s oversight of the government’s decisions, Israel’s main newspapers on Tuesday morning published blacked-out front pages in a coordinated campaign by the protest movement.

Other pages featured all-page advertisements announcing "the death of Israel’s democracy" or "the end of Israel’s democracy."

The all-black pages included in small white letters at the bottom the inscription "a black day for Israeli democracy." 

The front black pages were sponsored by the Israeli high-tech protest movement comprised of CEOs of leading Israeli high-tech companies, venture capital investors, self-employed entrepreneurs and regular hi-tech employees. And while these black pages were paid for, they still constituted a first for Israeli newspapers, especially since all the leading papers went along with it. These included Yedioth Ahronot, Israel Hayom, Haaretz, The Marker and Calcalist.

The public battle against the government’s judicial overhaul plan was also fought in the courts on Tuesday.

Shortly after the adoption of the reasonableness clause on Monday, several protest groups had petitioned the Supreme Court against the new legislation. A similar petition was submitted to the Court on Tuesday by the Israeli Bar Association. Demonstrations are set to restart if and when the Court decides it cannot overrule the new legislation. 

On Tuesday morning, opposition party Yesh Atid petitioned the Court on another element of the government’s judicial overhaul plan: the committee in charge of nominating judges. After talks between the coalition and the opposition over changing the composition of the committee had failed, and after the opposition managed to get last month one of its parliamentarians elected as a committee member (former Minister Karine Elharar), Justice Minister Yariv Levin decided to block the committee by refusing to convene it. In fact, the committee had not convened since April 2022. Thus, Yesh Atid petitioned the Court, demanding that the committee be convened.

In another development, the District Labor Court ordered Tuesday afternoon doctors who went on strike to go back to work. The Medical Association announced on Monday it will begin a 24-strike on Tuesday morning, barring all emergency services and not including medical centers in Jerusalem, where many protesters are still gathered. Still, a few hours later, the Labor Court issued an injunction order, stating that a two-hour strike by the medical staff was enough and that the continuation of the strike could lead to "significant disruptions across state hospitals" and "cause harm to patients." Israel’s main labor union — Histadrut — has been considering announcing a general strike since Monday. 

In yet another court development, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara requested on Tuesday that the Supreme Court consider the validity of a March-adopted amendment to Israel’s Basic Law: The Government. The amendment stipulates that a prime minister can be impeached only for medical reasons and only with a special majority in the Knesset. Baharav-Miara argues the amendment was adopted illegally to protect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, currently on trial for corruption and fraud, from claims of conflict of interest. 

In parallel, international criticism over the adoption of the reasonableness clause keeps growing. After concerns expressed on Monday by the White House, the British Foreign Ministry issued a statement urging Israel’s leadership to "build consensus and avoid division." A spokesperson of the British Foreign Office said that "while Israel's exact constitutional arrangements are a matter for Israelis, we urge the Israeli government to build consensus and avoid division, ensuring that a robust system of checks and balances and the independence of Israel's judiciary are preserved."