Israel's Stormy Horizon Amid Mounting Tension

The storm in Israel is growing, and so are its reverberations and international consequences.

08/02/2023 13:40

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The storm in Israel is growing, and so are its reverberations and international consequences. Despite the attempts to downplay the importance and weight of the criticism, that of the American administration [“the US concerns about the judicial shake up that Netanyahu heard from US secretary of State Blinken”] as well as the criticism Netanyahu heard from French President Macron ["If there are no changes to his government's far-reaching plans to overhaul the judicial system, Paris should conclude that Israel has emerged from a common conception of democracy"] speak for themselves.

Obviously, the political struggle between the supporters and the opponents of the current government coalition also lies behind this storm. This is an area in which Hiddush does not ordinarily intervene. However, the current conflict is not characteristic of past political and governmental disputes in Israel. A unique spectacle is unfolding before our eyes, one which Israel has not previously encountered. Hiddush has been focusing on it for many months because the planned changes bear directly on the relationship between religion and the state and are intended to restrict and undermine religious freedom, pluralism and equality in bearing the civil burden. In this newsletter you can see an example of our participation in the protest in the form of the JPLAN [Jewish Pluralism Legal Action Network] statement sent to Israeli Knesset members and ministers. We encourage you to also read an op-ed on the subject that we published in the Jerusalem Post.

The scope of the protest, diversity of the groups and individuals involved, and the arguments voiced by the parties to the conflict around the so-called "legal reforms", make it clear that this is a struggle for the very essence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Those behind the legislative initiative regard it as necessary for strengthening the state's Jewish identity, reinforcing its democratic character and improving governance, namely: the government's ability to govern in the face of “excess legalization" [Netanyahu], "judicial dictatorship" [spokesmen for the ultra-Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Zionist parties, the ultra-Orthodox media and many of the Likud politicians.] These and other derogatory and delegitimizing epithets are intended to describe the legal system in the broadest sense of the word as an obstacle that must be removed before there is true democracy in Israel. On the other side are unprecedented circles of protestors, as mentioned above, who describe this initiative as the destruction of democracy, elimination of the separation of powers, disastrous undermining of the protection of civil rights and a danger to the economy, security and status of Israel in the world and the Jewish people.

Despite the attempt to describe the protest as purely political, as if "the left that lost the elections does not know how to lose with dignity", it is difficult to accept this argument seriously. Observation of the diversity and scope of the protest shows that it is not consistent with the claim that it is merely a scheme of the "left". Neither is the fact that despite Netanyahu's many years as the head of several government coalitions - there was never a protest of similar scope in Israel during his rule (or in the years preceding it, when right-wing political leaders headed the government).

For example approximately 350 international and Israeli senior economists (including Nobel Prize laureates such as Daniel Kahneman, Israel Prize laureates, prominent figures such as Nouriel Roubini , who predicted the global economic crisis of 2008, and many, many others) who endorsed a highly critical and detailed document, which opens with the words: “We express our deep concern in view of the government's moves, which are expected to undermine the independence of the judicial

It is patently obvious that such criticism and on such a scale does not express a political position but rather professional considerations from the field of economics. The Prime Minister and the initiators of the move have failed to present leading economic scholars that would support their stand and cavalier response when confronted with this criticism. Along with these hundreds of economists, many more have joined the protest. These include University heads, deans of the law faculties, 5,000 academic faculty members, retired Attorney Generals and State Attorneys, thousands of lawyers and the largest law firms in the country, 139 recipients of the Israel Defense Prize, major hi-tech companies, retail chains, etc. etc."

system and the public service, and which in our opinion will cause unprecedented damage to the Israeli economy."

It is patently obvious that such criticism and on such a scale does not express a political position but rather professional considerations from the field of economics. The Prime Minister and the initiators of the move have failed to present leading economic scholars that would support their stand and cavalier response when confronted with this criticism. Along with these hundreds of economists, many more have joined the protest. These include University heads, deans of the law faculties, 5,000 academic faculty members, retired Attorney Generals and State Attorneys, thousands of lawyers and the largest law firms in the country, 139 recipients of the Israel Defense Prize, major hi-tech companies, retail chains, etc. etc.

A week ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video in which he countered the criticism, quoting the opinions of junior level analysts working for JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs as evidence that the judicial proposals were not chasing away potential investors. However, reacting to Netanyahu’s attempt to rely on these major institutions as supporting his contention, JP Morgan issued a memo making their position clear, warning of the growing risk to investments in Israel due to the judicial shakeup plans. The internal JP Morgan memo which stressed that the views it expresses are indeed the bank’s official positions — compared Israel to Poland, which passed similar judicial reforms and subsequently had its credit rating downgraded in January 2016.

Contrary to the speed with which Netanyahu rushed to substantiate his position on junior analysts from JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, when the official and critical response of the investment company was published, circles close to Netanyahu reacted stating that "a thousand reports will not make any difference to us"! Ex-Bank of Israel chief, Jacob Frankel, who was appointed to the post by Netanyahu himself, slammed the PM for ignoring warnings on the overhaul’s economic danger. Jacob Frenkel, who later chaired JP Morgan’s international business, said the PM shouldn’t brush off concerns expressed by the US banking giant: ‘There’s a danger of losing everything’.

In dramatic breaking news today, 55 leading economists from the United States also joined the protest of the top economists in Israel. These include 11 Nobel Prize Laureates in economics, two former Chief Economists of the World Bank, two former Chief Economists of the International Monetary Fund [IMF] and others. Here is their statement.

The fact that no reputable economists have expressed support for the actions of the Minister of Justice and the Chairman of the Law and Constitution Committee does not indicate a lack of trying on the part of Netanyahu and his associates. For instance, the PM is said to have sought support for judicial changes from ex-US Treasury head Larry Summers, to no apparent avail.

We are still far from the last word in the crucial controversy that is unfolding in Israel, but it is important for us to emphasize that if the legal overhaul materializes - Israel will no longer be the same country, and the change will severely damage both its democratic and Jewish identity. Democratic values will be curtailed, the independence and authority of the judiciary will be neutralized, and instead of freedom of religion as assured in the Declaration of Independence (and supported by the majority of the Jewish public in Israel and the Diaspora) ultra-Orthodox religious coercion will increase and any hope for religious pluralism will be doomed. That is why the struggle by Hiddush and its many partners in Israel’s civil society to protect the values of democracy and prevent Israel from ambulating to a Torah State is so important.