Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in comments to Army Radio, said the military was combat-ready even though reservists wanted to “put a gun to the head of the government”.
An injured demonstrator is dragged by police to be detained during a protest against plans by Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv.Credit: AP
Opposition leader Yair Lapid asked protesting reservists to hold off, pending any Supreme Court ruling on appeals against the new law. Both a political watchdog group and the Israel Bar Association have filed challenges.
The crisis has deeply split Israeli society and hit the economy hard by triggering foreign investor flight, weakening the shekel currency and raising the spectre of a general strike by the Histadrut public sector union.
It has also strained ties with the West including close ally the United States which called Monday’s vote “unfortunate”.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin called for political consensus through political dialogue in Israel during a call on Tuesday with Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant, calling this essential to “a resilient democracy”, the Pentagon said.
Riot police tries to clear demonstrators with a water cannon during a protest against plans by Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv.Credit: AP
Netanyahu has said he wants consensus on any further legislation by November.
Gallant’s ministry said he told Austin that Israel was “a strong democracy and will remain this way in the future”.
Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler said, “While there is clearly a legitimate case for judicial reform and a substantial number of Israelis believe in the need for certain modifications in Israel’s judiciary, alterations to the fundamental structures at the heart of Israel’s system of government should be embraced based on the widest conceivable agreement. “
“Any proposed reforms should reflect a consensus position on Israel’s democratic principles of upholding checks and balances, safeguarding minority rights and conserving judicial autonomy.”
Loading
Court orders doctors back
The Israel Medical Association called a 24-hour strike around the nation, though not in Jerusalem, which is the scene of escalating confrontations.
However, the Tel Aviv Regional Labour Court ordered the doctors to return to work, backing a government injunction request, a copy of the ruling seen by Reuters showed.
Physicians said they would not remain silent.
“Tomorrow the physicians will go back to work, but I can say that thousands of them are not going to be silent, because there is a strong feeling…that we cannot work as physicians when Israel is no more a democratic state,” said Hagai Levine, chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians.
Disquiet has spread to the arts. Divided audience members heckled and applauded a cast member in a popular musical in Tel Aviv as he read a statement on the crisis, and a fellow actor strode off-stage in apparent exasperation, according to video on social media.
Angering critics further, Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish coalition partners said they would submit legislation shoring up exemption from mandatory military service for their constituents studying in seminaries. However, Netanyahu’s Likud party said no such bill would be pursued for now.
First elected to top office in 1996 and now in his sixth term, Netanyahu, 73, has cast the judicial overhaul as a redressing of balance among branches of government.
Complicating Netanyahu’s position is a corruption trial in which he denies wrongdoing, and his weekend hospitalisation to receive a pacemaker. His coalition’s expansion of Jewish settlements on occupied land where Palestinians seek to establish a state has also weighed on relations with Washington.
Reuters with reporters
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
#doctors #strike #army #reservists #stand #fury #judiciary
