Netanyahu snubs Biden, limits power of Israeli courts despite protests
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday brushed aside President Biden’s last-minute plea and oversaw the passage of a major judicial reform law, sparking waves of renewed violent protests across the torn country.
The deeply controversial measure passed with 64 votes in the 120-member Knesset — in defiance of months of massive protests against the controversial legislation, which opponents fear will move the country away from Western democratic norms of checks and balances among branches of government.
Netanyahu struggled to quell the new outbreak of protests with a 5-minute primetime address during which he offered to keep negotiating on further judicial changes through late November, the New York Times said.
But Israeli police ended up still spending at least four hours facing off with thousands of protesters blocking the Ayalon freeway in Tel Aviv, the Times of Israel reported.
Photographs and videos from the intense confrontation shows authorities using water cannons and charging activists with calvary as the major road remained closed off.
The crowd waved Israeli flags and mostly refused to move, shouting “Democracy or revolution!” at the officers.
By around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday local time, the police had mostly cleared the highway, though it remained closed because of debris, the outlet said.
Lingering protesters chanted, “Shame!” as they were pushed up onto the nearby Kaplan junction, Hashalom bridge and exit ramps.
In Jerusalem – the contested site claimed as the capital by both Israelis and Palestinians – protesters urged police to join them, according to the New York Times.
Officers also were forced to use water cannons to disperse detractors rallying outside the Israeli Supreme Court.
Another video circulating social media showed a silver vehicle mowing through a group of protesters on Road 531 in central Israel.
According to police, three people were lightly injured and the driver was in custody, the Times said.
Biden had made an unusual last-minute bid for Netanyahu to reconsider the reforms, saying hours before the vote, “it looks like the current judicial reform proposal is becoming more divisive, not less.
“Given the range of threats and challenges confronting Israel right now, it doesn’t make sense for Israeli leaders to rush this — the focus should be on pulling people together and finding consensus,” Biden insisted Sunday.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement after the reform’s passage Monday, “As a lifelong friend of Israel, President Biden has publicly and privately expressed his views that major changes in a democracy to be enduring must have as broad a consensus as possible.
“It is unfortunate that the vote today took place with the slimmest possible majority. We understand talks are ongoing and likely to continue over the coming weeks and months to forge a broader compromise even with the Knesset in recess,” the statement said.
“The United States will continue to support the efforts of President Herzog and other Israeli leaders as they seek to build a broader consensus through political dialogue.”
The Knesset’s vote came hours after Netanyahu was released from the hospital after having a pacemaker implanted.
The prime minister’s conservative coalition had previously stalled the judicial reform in response to widespread domestic protests and international pressure from key allies including the US.
The reform proposal still technically needs the assent of President Isaac Herzog, but his OK is considered strictly ceremonial.
The legislation is part of a broader initiative to reduce the power of Israel’s Supreme Court.
It knocks out the reviewability of certain government actions on the grounds of “unreasonableness.”
Critics of Netanyahu say the reform could allow for misconduct without review — such as Netanyahu theoretically taking action to halt his own pending corruption prosecution.
The legislation has sparked protests especially among Israel’s secular Jews, who have expressed concern about growing religious influence on government policies and the potential easing of further annexation of territories internationally recognized as Palestinian.
Other controversial elements of the larger reform package that weren’t passed Monday could be approved in the future as part of the piecemeal approach — such as granting the Knesset the ability to override the court if it invalidates laws.
Biden, 80, has worked with Netanyahu, 73, for decades, including in his eight years as vice president from 2009 to 2017 and during his time in the Senate.
Netanyahu has been prime minister three times — first for three years in the 1990s, then for 12 years from 2009 to 2021 and again since December.
The US president last Monday invited Netanyahu to visit Washington in what was perceived as a move to thaw the relationship after criticism of the judicial reform bill.
Additional reporting by Olivia Land
