Israel’s far-right ruling coalition preliminarily voted to limit the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review Tuesday, sparking immediate street protests and threatening a return of the upheaval that has buffeted the country for months.
JERUSALEM — Within hours of the early morning vote, demonstrators interrupted traffic on dozens of roads, in some cases pitching tents and lighting bonfires. Police dragged them bodily out of roadways and used water cannon to clear the way ahead of the morning rush hour, according to local media and social media posts.
Police said they had arrested more than 40 protesters by noon. Officers also detained a driver who was reportedly seeking to plow his car into the crowd of demonstrators.The actions marked the end of a three-month respite in the chaos after Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuOrganizers pledged a “day of disruption” Tuesday and pushed labor leaders to call a general strike. In social media posts, they called on citizens to “rally and safeguard Israeli democracy.
It was unclear how wide the protests would spread. The head of Israel’s main labor federation, Arnon Bar-David, beseeched Netanyahu to pull the legislation and “stop the chaos,” but stopped short of announcing a general strike. The plan provoked an immense backlash when it was first introduced. Weeks of unprecedented street protests spooked investors and dinged Israel’s economic standing. Reserve air force pilots boycotted training missions, promptingIn March, following a nationwide general strike that briefly closed the airport, Netanyahu put the overall package on hold.
Members of the government complain the doctrine is ambiguous, has no basis in statutory law and prevents it from carrying out the platform it was elected by voters to enact. Opponents say that without a written constitution, the court’s reasonableness standard is one of the few checks on government power.“This is a time of major upheaval in Israel,” said Rivka Weill, a professor of constitutional law at Reichman University.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Monday he thinks some coalition members, wanting to avoid a return to national chaos, could vote against the bill when it comes up for final passage.
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