Protestors greeted with violence after Israel Judicial Reforms

Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has passed the judicial reform legislation that abolishes the "reasonableness doctrine" as part of their plan to overhaul the country's judiciary system. The legislation makes it impossible for the Supreme Court of Israel to decide whether a government policy is sensible and just.

Recently, in January 2023, the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Aryeh Deri as the Minister of Finance. However, the Supreme Court decided that based on previous convictions of bribery, fraud, breach of trust, money laundering and various tax offences, the appointed Shas party leader was not eligible to serve in the position.

The public, particularly the Secular Jewish community which makes up the largest amount of the Jewish population in Israel (45%), has argued that the changes underway will destabilise democracy in Israel.

As a result of much controversy, on Monday 24 July, thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to protest the new bill. A series of violent incidents occurred during the protests after the police responded to the demonstration with riot dispersal methods.

The riot dispersal methods include tear gas, water cannons, skunk water, batons, and stun grenades.

On Thursday 27 July, a protest march from Rothchild Street in Tel Aviv was planned to arrive at a demonstration on Kaplan Street. The police again, prepared to respond to the demonstrators with riot dispersal methods if any damage to police officers, infrastructure, and symbols of government occurred.

The Coordinator of the Freedom of Demonstration Project at the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Sivan Tahel, argued: "Instead of the police taking responsibility for the brutal and unimaginable violence that officers used in the recent demonstrations, they are spreading threats about the use of tear gas."

Tahel added: "The role of the police is first and foremost to maintain the safety and physical integrity of the demonstrators. Tear gas is a dangerous means that has no place in dispersing demonstrations."

A protestor also told reporters: "Our protest is a non-violent protest and will remain so throughout. Non-violence is important to achieving our goals. The surest and fastest way is through non-violent, but impolite, civil resistance. The police are our brothers."

A spokesperson for the Police Force in Israel said that the police are in agreement with most of the protestors, as they are also "frustrated by the repeated intelligence failures". However, there are reports claiming that the police frustration has led towards violence against the demonstrators.

Noah Tishby, an Israeli actress, writer and activist, was dismissed as an Israeli Special Envoy for criticising the judicial overhaul.

Tishby declared: "The majority of the Israeli population is not behind this particular vote. That's just the truth. But the Israeli people are not going to stop fighting, to make sure that Israel stays a liberal democracy, which is strong, safe, and secure."

The controversies surrounding judicial reform have also sparked further debates over a range of difficult issues, including the role of religion in Israeli society, national identity and the defining qualities of Israel's politics.

In Israel, Ultra-Orthodox Jews are exempt from serving in the Israeli military. Instead, ultra-religious people study the Torah as yeshiva students. For members of the Secular Jewish community, however, serving in the Israeli military for a period of time is compulsory.

Israeli Prime Minister spoke out about the current uprising in Israel. He said: "It's described as the end of Israeli democracy – I think that's silly and when the dust settles, everybody will see it."

"I want to bring the pendulum to the middle; I don't want to bring the pendulum to the other side. But we have to correct it and that's what we just did. It's a minor correction," the Israeli Prime Minister added.