The announcement by the minister of justice and other ministers about the return of the judicial overhaul are clearly coordinated, originating almost certainly from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The same is true of the fight at the High Court. Anyone with a semblance of reason understands that the last thing the State of Israel needs now is the renewal of this internal war.
Yet it seems that this is exactly where the prime minister is aiming. In the face of continuous failure on almost every other front, there is no better way to unite the “base” – the right-wing bloc, which is starting to turn against him, than to rally them around the resurrected “judicial reform.”
The State of Israel is in a gravely difficult situation. The low point we have reached may be unprecedented. The challenges, both internal and external, are only intensifying.
In Gaza, the IDF continues to operate and rack up successes, but the campaign has not yet achieved a decisive victory; Hamas continues to control parts of the Strip and, above all, still holds over 100 hostages. In the North, the war has continued unremittingly since October 7.
Entire communities have been devastated and tens of thousands of displaced people remain refugees in their own country.
A tumultuous situation in Israel
The Houthis and other Iranian militias continue to fire at Israel sporadically, and the Israeli response is irresolute.
Iran is winning the regional war roiling Israel while continuing to advance its nuclear project – and is paying no real price for it. The situation in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) is also complex.
The roads are perilous, and every few days Israel pays a terrible bloody price there too.
The situation in the domestic arena is equally grim. The streets are ablaze with protests led by the families of the hostages, which are tearing the nation apart. Reservists continue to carry an unprecedented burden and the government does virtually nothing to recruit the ultra-Orthodox, who continue to flout the law.
The economic situation is deteriorating, the cost of the war is crushing, and the deficit is ballooning.
This onerous reality is clearly reflected in recent surveys. In the Jewish People Policy Institute’s (JPPI) monthly “Israeli Society Index,” Prime Minister Netanyahu has a confidence rating as low as 30% among all Israelis.
The government headed by him also garners little public trust, with only 28% of the public expressing confidence in it.
Criticism of the government’s functioning and its leader no longer comes solely from the “anyone but Bibi” camp.
Even supporters of this government are losing hope in the face of its cascading failures and are losing hope and confidence in its ability to extricate Israel from its gordian crisis.
In light of all this, instead of showing leadership and dealing with the problems decisively, Netanyahu pulls from his sleeve the well-worn but always effective card: incite and rule.
Even if there is room for reform of the judiciary, which is by no means perfect, it should be clear to anyone promoting such a move that renewing the judicial overhaul now could spell disaster for Israeli society.
But as things stand, exacerbating the internal discord and polarization leaves Netanyahu unbothered. In view of his government’s ongoing failure in almost every aspect, the way to fire up his supporters once again is to gather them around the banner of “judicial reform.” Even if along the way he incites those opposed to the judicial overhaul against those who support it, and thereby widens the internal rift.
The government is making a mockery of Israeli law and is draining the obligation to obey the law of its meaning. But as if that weren’t enough, it now wants to revive its push for significant changes to the justice system.
It is plain to everyone that this move will not bring about change. It will only worsen the divide within the nation and lead to an irreparable schism.
And if all this comes to pass, Netanyahu will be the main beneficiary, able to continue his assault on the justice system and to fail in everything else behind the smoke screen of “reform.”
The writer is director-general of the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) and a senior lecturer in law at the Peres Academic Center.