A giant billboard calling to “Save Israel’s Democracy” by instituting judicial reforms was put up on Thursday in the heart of Tel-Aviv on the corner of Rothschild Boulevard and Allenby Street.
The 2,000-square-foot billboard was put up by the Zionist organization Im Tirtzu as part of its public campaign calling to reform the “unchecked and overreaching” judicial system in Israel.
The billboard, using the hashtag #InquiryCommitteeNow, cites a new poll conducted by the Midgam polling agency that revealed how 56% of Israelis are in favor of establishing an independent inquiry committee to investigate the reported abuses of the Netanyahu investigations, including illegal leaks and witness coercion.
The poll also revealed that the majority of Israelis believed that the judiciary operated too freely, with 68% of the respondents being in favor of establishing an independent audit mechanism for the judiciary.
The poll also showed that nearly 50% of Israelis experienced a decline in trust in the justice system following the investigations of Prime Minister Netanyahu.
According to Im Tirtzu, the recent controversy surrounding the Netanyahu investigations is merely a heightened manifestation of the dangers posed by Israel’s unchecked judicial and investigatory branches.
The group is therefore calling for major judicial reforms, including establishing an independent audit mechanism for the State Attorney Office, changing the judge selection method, legislating a Basic Law enshrining the separation of power between the branches, and establishing an inquiry committee into the mishandling of the Netanyahu investigations.
The billboard also quotes senior members of the justice system and public figures who have criticized the judiciary.
These include former ombudsman for the State the State Attorney’s Office Hila Gerstel, who stated that “Shai Nitzan is not fit to be the State Prosecutor,” and former Supreme Court Justice Tzvi Tal, who when asked if he trusts the justice system and the Attorney General, responded “I have question marks.”
Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg said that the state of the justice system in Israel is unparalleled in the Western world.
“Israel is under the thumb of a judicial oligarchy, which stands in contravention to the basic values of democracy,” said Peleg.
“All of the important decisions over the past 20 years were not decided upon by elected officials, rather by a group of judges and legal advisers whose worldview represents a small minority of the public.”
“It is only due to this phenomenon,” continued Peleg, “that there have been 19 police investigations against Prime Minister Netanyahu to date.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem/Photo credit: Im Tirtzu)
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One Response
In addition to all of the above, the government’s “Legal Advisors” must be put in his proper place and become once again advisors and not masters. Ever since the High Court illegitimately decided that the government must accept and act on its “advisors'” orders, they have effectively been Israel’s dictators. The government must also be free to choose its advisors from anywhere it likes, and not be restricted to a short list of three career civil servants, all of whom are guaranteed to be dedicated leftists.