Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down disputed law that limited court oversight
JerusalemReuters Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday struck down a highly disputed law passed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government that rolled back some of the high court’s power and sparked months of nationwide protests. The law was part of a broader judicial overhaul proposed by Netanyahu and his coalition of religious and nationalist partners […]
Israeli protesters keep pressure on Netanyahu after judicial turmoil
Tel Aviv. IsraelReuters Tens of thousands of flag-waving Israelis renewed their protests nationwide after sundown on Saturday, capping a week of turmoil in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed through a highly contested law that limited some Supreme Court power. From a remote intersection among the lush hills of the northern Galilee to the avenues […]
Israel’s Supreme Court to hear appeal in judicial crisis
JerusalemReuters Israel’s Supreme Court said on Wednesday it would hear an appeal against a new law that curbs some of its own powers, pitting it against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government that is seeking an overhaul of the judicial system. A bench decision posted on the court’s website said a hearing will be set […]
Demographics and grievances jaundice Israel’s judicial divide
Jerusalem Reuters As Israel’s judicial crisis reached crescendo, rival demonstrators passed each other on the escalators of a Jerusalem metro station – some arriving to picket parliament and others headed to Tel Aviv for a counter-rally backing the government. Both sides carried national blue-and-white flags and placards promoting democracy. Polite smiles and sportsmanly high-fives were […]
Protests rock Israel as it passes curbs on some Supreme Court powers
JerusalemReuters Israel’s parliament on Monday ratified the first bill of a judicial overhaul sought by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after last-gasp compromise efforts collapsed and failed to ease a constitutional crisis convulsing the country for months. The amendment limiting the Supreme Court’s powers to void some government decisions if it deemed them “unreasonable” passed by […]
Fitted with pacemaker, Netanyahu to attend key vote as crisis spirals
JerusalemReuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “doing excellently” after an unscheduled pacemaker implant and would on Monday attend a key judicial reform vote that has brought nationwide protests to a boil and stirred calls for compromise. With the country ensnared in its worst domestic crisis in decades, President Isaac Herzog on Sunday […]
Hundreds of Israeli reservists vow to refuse service if judicial overhaul passes
JerusalemReuters Hundreds of Israeli reservists marched in Tel Aviv on Wednesday threatening to refuse their volunteer service if the government presses ahead with its controversial plan to curb the power of the Supreme Court. The drive by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nationalist-religious coalition to strip the court of some of its review powers has triggered […]
Israel protests flare over Netanyahu’s new Supreme Court bill
Tel Aviv, IsraelReuters Thousands of protesters blockaded Israel’s main airport and highways on Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition pressed ahead with a justice bill that has opened the deepest splits seen in the country in decades. A day after parliament passed a key element in the bill, which aims to curb the […]
Israel’s Knesset gives initial nod to contested Supreme Court bill
JerusalemReuters Israel’s parliament gave preliminary approval to a bill that limits some Supreme Court power, part of a rebooted judicial overhaul by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that has set off a deep political crisis. The drive to change the justice system by Netanyahu’s ruling coalition of nationalist and religious parties has sparked unprecedented protests, stirred […]
Netanyahu bristles at protests as Israel’s judicial reform edges ahead
JerusalemReuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday summoned his attorney-general to explain the police’s handling of resurgent demonstrations against his plan to overhaul the justice system, as the reform bill edges ahead. The bill that would limit “reasonableness” as a standard of judicial review – and which critics argue would open the door for […]