The legal reform, which was among the issues voted for by the majority of the people, and on which large parts of it, even the public that is not part of the current coalition agrees, has been turned into a “legal and regiment revolution” that will lead us to the end of democracy, to a dictatorship, to severe economic damage, to potential wars, to the destruction of the health system, to a civil war that will end in the destruction of the country and its inhabitants.
The campaigners, who are financed by huge budgets, are trying to implement this campaign”s vision.
It started with the publication of economists” opinions (and, by the way, the number of times economists have managed to predict major crises in advance are scarce) that predict severe damage to Israel’s economy due to the upcoming damage to the judicial system and the democratic balance in the country.
And the words of the economists are echoed both by the written and the digital media in Hebrew and other languages.
And to grant it better validity, they find some company owners that the agenda suits, and they start discussing the withdrawal of their company’s funds from Israel, and some other investors tell how worried they are about the current state, while for dessert, a bank manager (who takes part in the demonstrations) talks about the withdrawal of funds from the bank he manages, and all is done so that the prophecy could fulfill itself.
And it”s not just the media and self-proclaimed experts that repeats the words of those economists, but it is repeated by anyone who decides this new reform might hurt their little niche as well, when sometimes the relation between the two is incidental at best.
And so, the protests of the lawyers, the doctors, the engineers, the hi-tech employees, the reserve soldiers, and more, start adding up to it.
And in order for it to take on a global dimension, members of the Knesset, businessmen, economists, lawyers, and members of the media are turning to their friends abroad with gross irresponsibility, telling them about the end of democracy and the loss of governance in Israel, and about the inevitable collapse of the judicial system, and that it”s worth withdrawing their funds from Israel because it is already starting. Yair Lapid, the coalition chairman, has recommended, without a shred of shame, investing those funds in&hellip Singapore.
And as this campaign gains momentum, international media and politicians from around the globe start discussing the harm that is being done to Israel”s democracy and judicial system, and from this point on, it really doesn”t take much more for the campaigners” prophecy to come true.
What are you doing, leaders of the protest against the judicial revolution?
Is that how one prevents legislation in the state of Israel? In a way of “I can”t have it, so why should you”, of “my soul shall die with the Philistines”?
Is this really what you want? To hurt the state of Israel? Collapse its economy? Harm its safety? Throw stones in a house of glass? Do you really want someone to spill another”s blood?
Have you gone completely crazy?
What is this obsession of yours? What is the meaning of your people and leaders calling for a civil war? To use weapons? To spill blood?
Is this really how you want to prevent democratic legislation?
Have you forgotten all about the conversing procedures at the Knesset committees, where each person or specialist, looking to sound their opinions, are welcome to do so?
Yes. You can protest but stop inciting. Stop calling for civil wars, to spilling blood, to leaving the country, to stop paying taxes, to not get drafted to the IDF or serve as a reserve soldier.
Not too many years ago, in the summer of 2005, we have gone through one of the most difficult collective experiences of the Gush Katif deportation. This decision was made under severe political coup in which the Supreme Court has chosen not to intervene and has led to people being removed from their homes, destroying their businesses, and digging up their loved ones from their graves to be buried elsewhere.
There were demonstrations then too, and to control those demonstrators the judicial system acted terribly. Starting at the arrest of minors until proceedings could take place, through denying people of the right to demonstrate and protest and severe imprisonment sentences for protestors who have tried to block roads, and more.
At that time, we did not threaten them civil war, nor bloodshed. We also did not threaten to remove funds and transfer them abroad. We did not shame the state of Israel to the nations of the world. We all felt the pain of the displacement, and yet, not a single one of us even thought about not serving the IDF, to take on combat training, and certainly not evading reserve service. We have felt the pain of the displacement and its consequences, which we, and all the settlements in the south of the country, are experiencing to this very day.
Even when the following year, 2006, the second Lebanon war broke, we all showed up for battle in which the best of our sons have fallen, some of them are the displaced citizens of Gush Katif themselves.
So, let’s talk about the reform, here and now, without any preconditions and according to the rules of democracy.
You can protest, and you can demonstrate – this is legitimate, provided that the protest is in accordance with the law and in accordance with the rules outlined by the judicial system during the deportation from Gush Katif.
The existing democracy allows for continuous and factual discourse in the Knesset committees. It is also possible to discuss and converse anywhere else, even at the president’s house. In the end, the issue will be put to a vote at the legislature, according to the rules of democracy and the laws in the state of Israel, where the decision will be made.
I don’t know what the final result might be, but just as we”ve accepted heavy heartedly the results of the Gush Katif deportation and continued to build our country and strengthen it, I expect our brothers to know how to accept any result in the legal reform, which will be accepted in a legal and democratic way, even if it”s not totally acceptable by you.
In the end, as is customary in any democratic country, in four years we will have another round of elections where we will have the right to choose the leaders we believe should lead Israel.
Attorney Izhak Lax is a partner at the attorney”s office and a judge in the national disciplinary court of the Israeli Bar Association