The People’s Directive – An Alternative To The Anti-Democratic Judicial Overhaul Program

Isaac Herzog, Israel’s President, announced an alternative to the current government’s anti-democratic judicial overhaul program, called the People’s Directive.

This is the culmination of weeks of discussions between the President and various stakeholders in Israeli society in response to the current government’s judicial overhaul program that is almost certainly going to cripple the Israeli judiciary and prevent it from protecting minorities from a radical, right-wing governing coalition.

The People’s Directive is published on a dedicated website in Hebrew and English, here: https://www.mitve-haam.org/

Here is the English version of this document that is designed as a framework for new legislation aimed at addressing widely recognised challenges facing our judiciary:

Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected the President’s proposal almost immediately, claiming –

Before boarding a flight to Berlin, Netanyahu said: “Unfortunately, the things the president proposes were not agreed on by the coalition, and central elements of the proposal he made just perpetuate the existing situation, and don’t bring the necessary balance between the branches of government. This is the unfortunate truth.”

“Any attempt to reach an agreement and talk is surely appropriate,” he added, but blamed the opposition for not being willing to come to the table. “Coalition representatives went and talked with the president time and time again, while opposition representatives were not ready for even one discussion.”

‘Unacceptable, insulting’: PM, coalition dismiss Herzog’s judicial reform framework | The Times of Israel

For a government that claims to be intent on strengthening Israeli democracy, they are also pretty intent on ignoring what broader Israeli society actually wants. Instead, they focus on their election win last year as a singular endorsement for whatever they want to do, regardless of what their supporters and opponents actually want in the here and now.

So much for the government’s declared intention to strengthen democracy.

Read the People’s Directive for yourself, and decide for yourself whether this represents a framework that is more beneficial to Israel as a whole.

Featured image: Thirty-seventh government of Israel taken by Avi Ohayon, Spokesperson unit of the President of Israel