I woke up this morning (12 September 2023) with the words of an old song by the 1980s group, Maranatha, resonating in my brain. One of the lines says, “The battle belongs to the LORD” and it seems very apt today. It is a fateful and momentous day for the state of Israel. This morning at 9:00 AM the 15 justices of Israel’s Supreme Court began their deliberations regarding the current government’s abolishment of the so-called “reasonableness clause” amendment to the Basic Law.
In my last post (23/08/23) I asked for prayer concerning this matter. The vote to abolish the clause was held the day after my posting and it passed 64-0, all the coalition MKs voted for it (even those few who had dared to speak out against it), and all of the opposition MKs boycotted the vote. Now we are in the ludicrous (if it wasn’t so serious) situation where the Supreme Court is meeting to decide whether to endorse, or veto, the change in the law, which essentially denies them the power to do so. The seriousness of the situation is demonstrated by the fact that, for the first time ever, all 15 of the Supreme Court judges will deliberate in this hearing, instead of the usual 3. The Guardian put it like this:
“Israel is now facing an unprecedented constitutional crisis in which the supreme court could strike down the legislation designed to curb its powers, and the government could choose not to comply“(1).
According to the Jerusalem Post today (2) only 3 of the 33 cabinet ministers have committed to following the decision of the Supreme Court, and PM Netanyahu is not one of them. In fact, Netanyahu “has pointedly refused to say that he would obey the court if it strikes down this amendment to a basic law. Instead, he has suggested that if the court interferes with a basic law, it would exceed its authority“.
Such a position is dangerous, as it would put the government above the law. The same Jerusalem Post article goes on to say, “
In fact, if the court were prevented from striking down basic laws or amendments to them, then any government could pass any law it desired as a basic law, thereby precluding any judicial review. That situation, obviously, is untenable.Equally untenable is a government that does not listen to the court.
Not only is it untenable, it opens the door to anarchy, to a situation described in the Book of Judges where “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” If the government does not heed the court’s decision, why should anyone else?
For more background you can read the following articles:
https://www.ajc.org/news/what-is-israels-reasonableness-legislation-and-why-is-it-so-contentious
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-758427
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Israeli_judicial_reform#
It seems to me that whatever the Supreme Court decides we are facing the potential of chaos and anarchy. I am looking to the LORD for His solution, for I see none according to man’s ways.
The ‘Reasonableness’ amendment is just the first of a whole raft of proposed changes this government wants to make. One of the next judicial reform proposals is slated to be a change in the way Supreme Court judges are appointed. The current selection committee consists of 9 members made up of 3 existing Supreme Court judges, 2 representatives of the Bar Association, 2 Knesset members and 2 Ministers (3). Decisions are made by a simple majority.
The current government, however, feels that the system is biased against a right-leaning government as they can never gain approval since the other 5 members tend to be left-leaning. While this is a legitimate complaint, the proposed ‘repair’, would give the government complete control over the appointment of judges with 7 representatives out of 11 members. It seems to me that there must be a better way to appoint a balanced and fair representation on the Committee.
Another change on the agenda will be a law to allow the overthrow of virtually any ruling of the Supreme Court with a vote of just 61 MKs. In other words the sitting government (which must have a minimum of 61 MKs) will be able to overthrow any of the rulings of the Supreme Court, thus putting the government over the rule of law. There would be no protection from the abuse of power.
The coalition government has also put forward a draft bill which would allow them to appoint their own legal advisors and remove any obligation of the government to obey the advice of their legal advisors. This would substantially change the current system in which each ministry’s legal adviser falls under the supervision of the Attorney General so as to preserve their independence from political influence, and their advice is binding upon ministries (3).
In short, the reforms, if passed, will undermine the independence of the Judiciary and put the sitting government essentially above the Law. Opponents claim the checks and balances of a healthy democracy would be destroyed, potentially allowing the elected government to change basic laws unopposed thus abusing its power to its own ends.
Other proposed changes the current coalition government wants to introduce include, the “…Full annexation of the occupied West Bank, a rollback of pro-LGBTQ+ legislation, axing laws protecting women’s rights and minority rights, and a loosening of the rules of engagement for Israeli police and soldiers” (1).
Meanwhile weekly demonstrations against the current government continue to take place with hundreds of thousands turning out each time. This has continued now for 36 weeks (9 months!).
Thankfully these protests have not devolved into violence, except for a few minor scuffles with the police trying (sometimes in vain) to keep the roads open. The demonstrations represent a spontaneous protest, with no leaders as such, and represent the views of at least 50% of the population. The latest polls indicate that if an election were held today, the current coalition would win only 52 seats (4) – 9 short of the 61 needed to form a government, in short, they no longer have majority support.
Who are the people protesting? According to APnews,
“The anti-government protesters come largely from Israel’s urban middle class and include doctors, academics, military officers and business leaders. Netanyahu’s supporters tend to be poorer, more religious and include residents of West Bank settlements and outlying areas. Many are working-class Jews of Mizrahi, or Middle Eastern, descent who see themselves marginalized by an Ashkenazi, or European, elite”(5).
This represents a deep divide in Israeli society which is both racial, cultural, religious and economic. The terms ‘right wing’ and ‘left wing’ mean something very different in Israel compared to the US and other western democracies. It is much more complex.
It is illuminating to read the party manifesto (below) of the Otzmah Yehudit (Jewish Power) Party, led by Itamar Ben Gvir, and which holds 6 seats in the Knesset. Ben Gvir is the Minister of National Security, and he has already proposed changes including more ministerial control over police actions (he is already doing this), and the establishment of a National Guard, essentially his own para-military force.
Although some of these goals may seem, on the surface acceptable, even laudable, what they boil down to is far from acceptable. They would result in the expulsion and exclusion of all non-Jewish citizens and residents of Israel, including all non-Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Christians and Messianic believers who would not be defined as “Jewish” by Otzmah Yehudit. It would mean the annexation of all of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Temple Mount would come under Israeli law, the Muslim structures being destroyed and a Third Temple built. It would mean the abolishment of civil law, and halachic law (Jewish Religious Law) would be supreme under the auspices of a reconstituted Sanhedrin (Religious court). All educational institutions would have to follow far- right religious curriculum and ideologies.
I don’t believe that they could succeed with these plans at this present time, but there is a definite shift towards this ideology in a large sector of Israeli society, particularly amongst those who feel disadvantaged. At the same time extremism and violence at both ends of the political and religious spectrum is increasing, and threatens to boil over into uncontrollable violence. There is an atmosphere of fear, anxiety and uncertainty in all sectors. Israel is facing its greatest threat since the founding of the modern state, not from our enemies without, but from ourselves within.
There is much more I could write about, such as the increasing number of terrorist attacks, the alarming rise of violence in the Arab sector, attacks against Christians and Christian property, the security situation with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, the breakdown of Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and so on, but in the interests of getting this published today, I will stop here.
You may be asking how to pray into this situation? That is a hard one, but here are my suggestions:
- Pray for righteous leadership in Israel, according to God’s will.
- Pray for the continued freedom of Christian and Messianic activity and the preaching of the gospel.
- Pray against fear and anxiety, and that many would turn to the LORD and his Messiah at this time.
- Pray for the leaders of the land, political, military, economic and spiritual, that they will repent and follow the LORD.
- Pray especially for Netanyahu who has painted himself into a very uncomfortable corner. Pray he and his colleagues will act for the good of all the people of Israel and not just for their own personal interests.
Remember: The battle belongs to the LORD!!!
References:
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/24/what-is-israel-judicial-overhaul-vote-about-what-happens-next
- https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-758554
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Israeli_judicial_reform#
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/gantz-maintains-lead-over-netanyahu-in-latest-poll-coalition-falls-to-52-seats/?utm_campaign=daily-edition-2023-09-11&utm_medium=email&utm_source=The+Daily+Edition
- https://apnews.com/article/israel-netanyahu-judicial-overhaul-politics-bc66247c3f7824288d6f93dbd7b777c7