Israel's reasonableness standard law takes effect amid protests

With the passing of the reasonableness standard bill on Monday, leaders on both sides of the debate have indicated that they believe that it is a non-decisive battle in a longer war. 

The next bill that the coalition will likely promote, if negotiations don't resume as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed on Monday night, is on the Judicial Selection Committee. 

The Judicial Selection Committee is perhaps the most contentious issue of judicial reform, a matter where experts, NGOs and negotiating parties have said were unable to even approach consensus.

Britain on Tuesday called on Israel to maintain the independence of its judiciary after the country's parliament ratified new legislation that rolls back some Supreme Court powers, despite mass protests.

"While Israel’s exact constitutional arrangements are a matter for Israelis, we urge the Israeli government to build consensus and avoid division, ensuring that a robust system of checks and balances and the independence of Israel’s judiciary are preserved," Britain's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The EU shares concerns with protesters about judicial oversight, an EU official said on Tuesday, after the Knesset passed part of the government’s judicial reform.

“The EU takes note of the vote on the reasonableness bill,” the official said. “Similarly to the thousands of demonstrators, the EU is concerned that this bill would limit the Supreme Court’s ability to conduct judicial reviews of government decisions and thus weaken its role and judicial oversight.”

Brussels expressed hope for a compromise between political parties on the matter.

“EU-Israel relations are based on shared values, such as democracy, rule of law, including an independent judiciary, and human rights. It is important that these values are preserved,” the official stated.

Israeli Bar Association chairman Amit Becher filed a petition to the High Court of Justice as expected on Monday evening against the newly-passed Law to Cancel the Reasonableness Clause. 

The petition, which calls on the court to impose a interim injunction on the law, argues that the law threatens to grant Israel's executive branch powers "not subject to judicial review, allowing it to govern without restrains or limitations."

Several Israeli newspapers published an entirely black front page on Tuesday morning, following the passing of the Law to Cancel the Reasonableness Standard on Monday afternoon. 

The pages were paid advertisements by the Israeli Hi-Tech Protest movement, a group comprised of representatives from hi-tech companies including CEOs, venture capital investors, self-employed entrepreneurs and regular hi-tech employees.  

The ads read, "a black day for Israeli democracy" in small white text at the bottom. Also in small text at the top was the word "advertisement." 

Is it an advertisement or not?

Although all the newspapers involved - Yediot Aharonot, Calcalist, Yisrael Hayom, and Haaretz - disclosed the advertisement at the top of their front page, some readers claimed that the text was too small and it was not clear enough that the all-black front page was paid for.

In an interview with British news outlet Channel 4 News, former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, declared that Israel is going into a civil war following Monday’s vote to pass a bill severely restricting the use of the reasonableness standard.

“There is a threat. This is a serious threat,” Olmert said. “It’s never happened before and we are going into a civil war now.”

Many within Israeli society have been expressing their displeasure regarding the government’s judicial reforms. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets over recent weeks, thousands of IDF reservists have threatened to quit volunteer service, and following the passing of the bill, Israeli medical personnel have elected to strike in protest of the new law. Still, civil war has not broken out in Israel, and Olmert appeared to walk back his statement.

“We are going into a civil war now.”

Former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert says the country faces civil war as huge protests have flooded the streets in Israel over judicial overhaul. pic.twitter.com/WZ33aItKP7

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) July 24, 2023

An Israeli labor court received an appeal on Tuesday against the Israeli Medical Association's strike in protest of the Knesset's passing of the judicial reform's Law to Cancel the Reasonableness Clause a day prior.

Health Minister Moshe Arbel announced last night his intention to file an injunction against the strike, which can lead to "significant disruptions across state hospitals" and "cause harm to patients," the injunction request read.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant should have resigned over the passing of the judicial reform's Law to Cancel the Reasonableness Standard on Monday, former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said on Tuesday morning to 103FM.

"Gallant should have done the bravest thing he could have - announce that he would stop playing this game," Yatom said. "He should have resigned, for better or for worse."

Some 73% of medical residents will support the protest against the judicial reform and strike on Tuesday, the Intern Doctors Organization announced on Monday evening.

Additionally, the Israel Medical Association decided to disable the work of doctors for 24 hours in a decision that was voted on unanimously. 

"It has been decided in the organization to support the call of the 'White Coats' and to call on all the intern doctors to join emergency assemblies across the country tomorrow and switch to working on an emergency basis," the Intern Doctors Organization said.

Mossad Director David Barnea on Monday said that the government's repeal of the reasonableness standard had not yet crossed the line into bringing the agency into a legal dilemma, but that is such a point arrived, that the Mossad would always remain loyal first to the rule of law.

The Jerusalem Post can confirm that there have been high tensions within the Mossad regarding the issue and that Barnea is attempting to maintain the spy agency's cohesion while permitting open dialogue among its agents.

On Monday, a critical mass of Mossad officials held a dialogue with Barnea over government policy with disparate accounts of whether he called the meeting proactively or was pressed into it.

All of the six living former Mossad chiefs had either explicitly opposed the reasonableness standard repeal or called for a pause to arrive at a compromise.