Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to push forward with his country’s military campaign in Gaza while facing growing domestic backlash over efforts to consolidate power at home.
His government’s latest move—a controversial bill granting increased control over judicial appointments—has triggered some of the most intense protests seen during his nearly two decades in office.
In recent days, mass demonstrations have erupted across Israel in response to the legislation, which has drawn over 71,000 objections from political opponents. Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned on Wednesday that the bill has placed the country “on the brink of a civil war.”
Despite the widespread opposition, the bill passed a final vote in the Knesset early Thursday, with critics warning that Israel’s democratic future hangs in the balance.
Protests and Public Outcry
“I think that it’s really important to fight against our enemy, and specifically against Hamas and Hezbollah, but I also think that after we fight against our enemy, we need to guarantee Israel’s future as a democracy,” said Yair Fink, a former Labor Party candidate who recently served in the Israel Defense Force’s (IDF) reserves and is now protesting against the judicial reforms.
“Today, under a very extreme government, democracy is not guaranteed here in Israel,” Fink added. “So, I want my children to live in a Jewish and democratic country, and we’re fighting to ensure this.”
Protesters took to the streets in major cities, with critics arguing that Netanyahu’s government is using the war as a cover to push through authoritarian measures.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has held office in three nonconsecutive terms: from 1996 to 1999, 2009 to 2021, and again from 2022 to the present. His political longevity has been fueled by strategic coalition-building, particularly with far-right and ultranationalist factions.
The judicial reform bill first sparked mass protests in early 2023, coinciding with record-high Israeli-Palestinian violence. The situation escalated dramatically in October of that year when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, leading to the ongoing war.
At the outset of the conflict, Israelis largely rallied behind Netanyahu as he formed a wartime cabinet. However, as the war drags on, divisions have resurfaced, with opponents accusing him of exploiting the crisis to cement his grip on power.
“On October 7, I, like hundreds of thousands, drove very fast to the combat reserves and we fought together, people that are for and against the government,” Fink said. “But now our government is promoting very extreme steps that are causing major disputes here in Israel.”
Netanyahu’s Response
Despite the criticism, Netanyahu remains defiant. Speaking in the Knesset on Wednesday, he declared:
“Israel has been and will remain a democracy. Democracy isn’t in danger. The rules of bureaucrats and the deep state are in danger.”
His government has dismissed the protests as politically motivated, insisting the reforms are necessary to curb judicial overreach.
Under Israel’s current system, judges are appointed by a nine-member Judicial Selection Committee, which includes representatives from the government, Knesset, Israel Bar Association, and Supreme Court.
The new law replaces the two Israel Bar Association representatives with political appointees—one selected by the ruling government and the other by the opposition. This shift tilts the balance of power away from legal professionals and toward political figures.
Additionally, lower court judges can now be appointed by a simple majority, with at least one vote from government, opposition, and Supreme Court representatives. Supreme Court judges require just one vote from the ruling coalition and opposition, reducing the judiciary’s influence over its own composition.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: AP)
Although less extreme than the initial 2023 proposal, the bill has still sparked a fierce backlash.
“Netanyahu is going about judicial reform this time in a smarter way,” said Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at the Israel Policy Forum. “Whereas the initial attempt would have allowed the government to control the appointment of judges entirely on its own, this bill makes appointing judges a more political process that requires explicit opposition buy-in.”
However, he noted that “there is going to be less natural opposition to a reform that makes appointing judges subject to political horse trading” compared to a system that places full control in the hands of the ruling coalition.
Political Fallout and Calls for Elections
Opposition parties have vowed to fight the reforms, with some factions calling for an election to remove Netanyahu.
“[Netanyahu and his ruling coalition] have the majority in the parliament, but the majority of Israelis are opposed to the current government,” Fink told Newsweek.
“Every poll in the last year and a half, since October 7, shows this coalition is the minority. A majority of Israelis want a new election, a new government. They believe Israelis deserve better. The only reason we’re not having elections is because this government knows it lacks majority support.”
The protests are unlikely to pose an immediate threat to Netanyahu’s rule, according to analysts.
“The protests are a challenge, but not as serious as the protests against the judicial overhaul in the spring of 2023,” Koplow said. “Now, Netanyahu has successfully kept his government together through the shock of October 7, massive discontent over ultra-Orthodox Israelis avoiding military service, and public anger over prioritizing war in Gaza over hostage negotiations.”
The Israeli opposition, led by former Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s party The Democrats, released a statement condemning the reforms:
“We call on all opposition factions: Get up and leave—leave the plenary. Leave the coalition to stand alone in front of an empty plenary that will reveal the truth: forceful legislation by a government that has declared war on democracy.”
“We will fight in the Knesset and on the streets. We will defend democracy, we will defend the protesters, we will fight to secure the future of the State of Israel. The State of Israel was established as a democracy—and it will remain a democracy.”
With Netanyahu’s government pushing forward despite opposition protests and political boycotts, the bill is expected to take effect with the next Knesset session.
Meanwhile, attention remains on Gaza, where rare protests have emerged against both Hamas and Israel. While demonstrators in Gaza have called for an end to the war, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz responded by praising Palestinians for criticizing Hamas while also announcing that the IDF “will soon operate with full force in additional areas of Gaza.”
