reform contrary to justice, but woke up the ‘sleeping majority’

Hana Bendcowsky of the Rossing Center attacks “extremist politicians” with “criminal records” that upset the nature of the state. She wants to turn the Supreme Court into a “pusher” of the Executive. The reaction of those who fight for liberal values ​​and the future is positive. The haredim they seem to have embraced the radical right. For extremists, greater freedom to attack; minorities, in danger; attacks on Christians “are underestimated.”

Milan () – A government controlled by “extremist politicians”, some of whom have “criminal records” risk upsetting the “democratic nature” of the country with this law that has had the merit, at least, of awakening to “a great majority until now asleep” who took to the streets to “protest”. Hana Bendcowsky, an Israeli expert on interfaith dialogue, program manager at the Jerusalem Center for Judeo-Christian Relations and a leading figure at the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, rejects the controversial justice reform and their promoters. A law that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants and that has the strong support of the radical and religious wing, first of all the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who opposes the decision to freeze the approval process until later. Easter. And who, on the other hand, obtained the go-ahead and money to form a kind of “personal militia” (a Civil Guard) with tasks yet to be defined, but which is already causing concern. “Most are concerned about the consequences of turning the Supreme Court into a mere executive pencil pusher,” he continued. And when commenting on the attacks against minorities, especially Christians preparing to celebrate Easter, the expert speaks of “underestimation”, also due to “the general atmosphere” and government policies that give freedom “to these groups”. Below is the interview of the Israeli activist and expert with :

A deep crisis arose between the government and a wide and varied sector of the country around the reform. What do you think of the current situation?

I see two prevailing elements: the first is the attempted revolution that the government has tried to set in motion to weaken the Supreme Court and critical oversight of the work of Parliament and the executive (which are now one and the same). This ends up giving unlimited powers to a government-controlled parliament, with attendant risks and threats to everything not on this government’s agenda, from human rights to minority rights. To this must be added the fact that we are talking about an executive controlled by extremist politicians, some of them with criminal records, nationalists who tried to distort its democratic nature. With arrogance and contempt for civilized life, they want to turn the state into what they want, and without having to pay the consequences. At the same time, I was astonished that a hitherto “asleep” majority had woken up, taking to the streets to protest. People who care about the democratic nature of the state, about liberal values, about the future of society.

Is there also a confrontation between a religious spirit and a secular one?

In the Jewish world, one cannot speak of religious and secular, but it is better to define the discourse speaking of practicing and non-practicing Jews. In this specific case, there are religious (practicing) Jews who see reality, politics and the State through the eyes of faith. Furthermore, I think it is more correct to speak of clashes between liberals who see democracy as a valuable element that must be maintained for a healthy society, in which the agenda of a majority can advance while protecting the rights of minorities; and another group of people who have a much narrower vision of democracy, in which the rule of the majority prevails even though that supposed majority is actually a small minority in the country.

How is the galaxy so heterogeneous that has taken to the streets in recent weeks against the reform made up? Does it have strength at the electoral level?

I think this protest is a unique case because it brings together very different groups concerned about the democratic future of the State. I don’t even know if we can talk about collaboration between different groups with different objectives or about common and shared concerns that push different realities to the streets. Groups that see in the occupation all the ills of our society. Human rights activists, feminists, gay rights groups. Many also view with concern the government’s loss of control over the extremist and radical movements that exist within it, others protest against Netanyahu that he is on trial and for this reason he could not lead the country. Above all, the vast majority are concerned about the consequences of the Supreme Court – the body responsible for balancing functions and powers with the executive and the legislature – becoming a mere executive pencil-pusher.

Is there a real connection between Netanyahu’s personal destiny and the battle over justice? And more importantly, does Israel really need to reform the judiciary and rebalance the powers?

What is certain is that Netanyahu is on trial and that he tries to do everything possible to stay in power and not go to jail, so he surrounds himself with weak men,”yes man“who have no idea how to run a nation, but who know how to curry favor with the leader. Today [el primer ministro] depends on extremist, religious, ultra-orthodox, nationalist parties and irresponsible politicians who rule from the shadows [del ejecutivo]. I don’t think it’s a problem with the functioning of the judiciary, and the Supreme Court should have among its functions that of reviewing the government’s actions. The same supreme judges are not as active when it comes to human rights, particularly those of the Palestinians. I know that a large section of the population believes that change is necessary, even among liberals, even among those who participated in the protests, but change cannot be so fast, spread so far, and become a source of controversy.

Some commentators believe that a few substantial concessions to the Haredim would be enough to break the alliance: funding for schools and exemption from military service. Do you think this is plausible?

Ultra-Orthodox parties have long sided with the radical right, and in some cases and on certain issues have taken even more radical positions, so as to jeopardize any possible alliance with the other side of the spectrum. Of course, there is the question of special funds and exemption from conscription, but it is not only that. After all the years in which the ultra-Orthodox parties maintained an equidistant position with respect to the right and the left, it seems that in the last period they have already taken a position.

The power of the prime minister has lasted twenty years: is the crisis a mirror and the daughter of his way of governing or is there something deeper? From the outside it seems to touch the very soul of the nation…

Some of these challenges have accompanied society and the State of Israel since its creation and, from time to time, the knots tighten again. There are many crises that have been experienced and that, in my opinion, are related to the occupation of the West Bank and the military control of a civilian population. All this while maintaining a status quo that it is now impossible, without a vision that can really guarantee a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This leads to an increasing polarization of society and gives rise to one election after another. [Israel ha celebrado cinco en menos de tres años]without a clear result and without a stable government.

Former President Reuven Rivlin affirms that it is no longer time for compromises and that the State must be rebuilt from scratch. Is the very idea of ​​nation at stake?

Don’t know. But I am also convinced that the current crisis is very deep and it is difficult to talk about dialogue now. I hope that, from a legal point of view, the next step that Israel takes will be in the direction of drafting and adopting a Constitution as soon as possible.

Minorities could also pay a heavy price, as the escalation of attacks against Christians demonstrates. Is there a real danger or are they isolated incidents?

One of the duties of the State is to protect minorities and, if it fails to do so, it becomes the task of the Supreme Court to halt the executive and protect them. I think the Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank are feeling the deterioration of the situation. In recent months, the extremists feel they have more support to attack (as can be seen in Hawara or south of Hebron). It is difficult to say if the increase in attacks against Christians is a consequence of the new situation in the country, but these attacks are certainly underestimated, a problem that we at Rossing Center are seriously working on. There is no doubt that the general atmosphere grants more freedom to these groups [radicales]. We have launched a project and we are in contact with churches and NGOs to gather information and support, to identify old and new problems, to detect new challenges and to know how to deal with them.

“PUERTA DE ORIENTE” IS THE ASIANNEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO THE MIDDLE EAST

WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY TUESDAY IN YOUR EMAIL? SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER AT THIS LINK.