What happens next?
This is far from over. The protests will continue and more judicial changes are coming.
In an ironic twist, Israel’s judges may end up deciding the fate of the «reasonableness» bill. The Movement for Quality Government, a good governance group, has filed a petition to the court arguing that the change is illegal.
Future proposed laws would give the government greater powers to appoint judges and remove independent legal advisers from ministries.
Demonstrations were not expected on Tuesday, but protest groups vowed to continue as Netanyahu plans to bring the rest of his judicial changes to parliament.
“The government of the destruction of the house voted to crush the State of Israel as we knew it, we will fight them to the end,” the Black Flags protest group said in a statement.
Histradut, the national trade union group, said after Monday’s vote it would call a meeting of its members to discuss a general strike.
But while the government has shown no sign of budging, the size of the opposition to Netayahu’s changes could be too much, some predict.
“Protests and other pressures, like what Biden could do and the economy, could constrain this plan,” Rahat said. «I think they didn’t predict this amount of rejection.»
President Joe Biden has repeatedly urged Netanyahu not to impose his court plan on an angry public, and the White House made this clear again in a statement on Monday, adding that the president has been a «lifelong friend» of Israel.
Columnist Thomas Friedman of The New York Times He suggested that only Biden has the power to stop Netayahu’s plan.
Netanyahu, who has survived numerous political crises during his many years in power and is now on trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which he denies, could ultimately lose this quest to remake Israel’s judicial system.
«Netanyahu is riding on the back of a tiger, but sometimes the tiger takes him to places he doesn’t want to be taken,» Rahat said.