The people are the warriors of democracy when any of its pillars are under attack from the most powerful in the land. The do-or-die protests by the people backed by some key ministers against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s move to crush the judiciary, take away all its powers, and usurp it himself through, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, forced the Prime Minister to backtrack and delay the “overhaul”.
Netanyahu’s so-called judicial overhaul includes the absolute suppression of the judiciary making it powerless to make laws that count.
The Prime Minister, heading the most rightwing coalition administration in the nation’s history, wants absolute control over how judges are selected, what laws the Supreme Court can rule on, to even giving parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions, the most unfair shakeups in the history of Israel.
The brutal assault on the Supreme Court included changes to the nine-member committee that selects judges, to give the government a majority of the seats on the committee and the parliament the power to pass laws earlier ruled invalid by the court making the decisions of the Supreme Court meaningless.
BUT THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN, ALONG WITH MINISTERS AND EVEN THE EMBASSIES OF ISRAEL IN THE WORLD. THEY ARE THE HEROES OF DEMOCRACY THE WORLD OVER
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over his opposition to the planned overhaul, the massive protests spread like wildfire, as the minister himself joined the people against the massive undemocratic muscle flexing by the Prime Minister and so did the Internal security minister.
Israeli embassies worldwide were asked to get on board the strike.
On Monday people broke police barricades and entered the premises of his residence, not fearful of any power knowing that the power of the people was above all which finally forced the Prime Minister to “delay” the changes to gain time.
But the people of Israel after what they have shown will not accept the crushing of democracy now or later.
So far, Israel also has no check on the power of the Knesset other than the Supreme Court and the people know that the court will always stand as the protector of democracy. They have now shown what the judiciary means to them. They have displayed the trust, love, and respect they have for this institution of justice in front of the whole world. And it is not just the people. Some of those in government have chosen to be partners in what is right against what is fundamentally wrong.
Most importantly, the movement has no leader, no party, just waves of people passionate to protect democracy. Isn’t this a lesson for the world?
A leaderless movement has made one of the most powerful people buckle. Even sections of the military and the most important tech sector, the backbone of Israel’s economy has bent toward the people. This is significant not just for Israel but for democracy in the world.
When nations forget that there is no democracy without people, an Israel-like situation can erupt especially when some government institutions and cabinet ministers put people and country above power. Moreover, as Israel has shown, power has, does, and always will, come from the people.
