“The people have chosen us to bring reforms”. This empty slogan is being used by Netanyahu and his cronies, again and again to justify the planned, rapid destruction of what was built in the past 75 years.
All the lies being spread during the election campaign by Ben Gvir, Smotrich and more than anyone, Netanyahu himself are now used to justify the abuse of the power they have and do what they cane to do: turn Israel into a Halachic State for Jews only.
But of course this government first needed to show who they really work for. For the criminal Arye Deri who needed a change of the law in order to become a minister after having been convicted twice of corruption and fraud. For the fascist Ben Gvir who needed to have the law changed for him to be able to control the police force and make them do what he sees fit. For Smotrich, who needed to get approval to become a minister in the Defense ministry beside the “real” defense minister, to be able to effectively harass the Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories and allow his hooligans to rule the West Bank.
And more than anything, Netanyahu who sent his minion to initiate the destruction of the Legal system in Israel and in the process have his trial abandoned.
So who so they think they are fooling? They indeed were chosen by the people but working for the people? They care about themselves and themselves only and these two weeks have only been the beginning. And of all the absurdities taking place, the Judicial reform is the most dangerous for the future of Israel as we know it. Democracy is a fragile system and is easily brought off-balance by anyone who attempts to use it for his own interests. To hear Yariv Levine, the current justice minister who came forward with the “judicial Reform” in a dramatic live television performance, talk about democracy while presenting the destruction of one of the pillars of democracy, clearly shows his disdain for the people he is supposed to serve and his disdain for democracy. Without the judicial system as a stable third pillar, the legislative branch, i.e. the Knesset will obtain powers that will allow them to move forward with their action plans, unimpeded by boundaries that democracy sets. The vote they received from the public is not a carte blanch to do as they see fit, and claiming that this is what the voter wants is absurd. No doubt, there are voters who would like to see rights of the Gay and Lesbian community curtailed. To see religious rules enforced such as public transportation on the Sabbath, or opening of shops. Undoubtedly, many voters will be in favor of abolishing income tax but that does not mean they should get what they want just because they voted.
Last night almost 100,000 people braced to rainy weather and took to the streets in Tel Aviv to protest the actions and intentions of the new government. This, after a week in which almost every authority in legal matters issued strong warnings against the changes proposed by Netanyahu and many of them called for active protest against the plans of the government. It is still far from the outcry in the 80’s against the massacres in the Palestinian refugee camps Sabra and Shatilla, which brought 400,000 people onto the streets, but it is encouraging that many people, despite the lies spread by the government, feel that something as basic as democracy is in real danger and decide to take action. It must be hoped that they realize that the road will be long and arduous, in particular since this government does have a majority in the Knesset and Netanyahu has given his “partners” all they wanted to make sure that the will toe the line and give him what he needs. And no, the fact that the government has a majority does not mean they can act on destroying the basis that gave them that majority and change basic democratic rules to further their own interests. That is not democracy, no matter what Netanyahu and Levine are trying to say.
Where will it all lead? To a civil war? A totalitarian regime? A Halachic State? It is difficult to predict but Israel is facing a challenge not like any it has faced before and the outcome is far from certain, and a long fight is ahead.
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