The judicial overhaul — which opponents characterize as a profound threat to Israeli democracy — has infuriated Israelis across many segments of society, bringing hundreds of thousands into the streets to march at one protest after another for the past 36 weeks.
The protesters have come largely from the country’s secular middle class. Leading high-tech business figures have threatened to relocate. Perhaps most dramatic, thousands of military reservists have broken with the government and declared their refusal to report for duty over the plan.
Netanyahu’s supporters tend to be poorer, more religious and live in West Bank settlements or outlying rural areas. Many of his supporters are working-class Mizrahi Jews, with roots in Middle Eastern countries, and have expressed hostility toward what they say is an elitist, secular class of Ashkenazi, or European, Jews.
As the hearing got underway Tuesday, a couple dozen right-wing activists came out to protest at the entrance to the Supreme Court. “The people are the sovereign!” they shouted through megaphones, blowing horns and holding signs declaring that they had voted for Netanyahu, not Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut.
The night before, tens of thousands of anti-government protesters rallying against the judicial overhaul had flooded the streets near the court, waving national flags and chanting for democracy.
The law passed as an amendment to what in Israel is known as a “Basic Law,” a special piece of legislation that serves as a sort of constitution, which Israel does not have. The court has never struck down a “Basic Law” before but says it has the right to do so. The government says it does not.
Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Tuesday said the court “lacks all authority” to review the law.
“It is a fatal blow to democracy and the status of the Knesset,” he said, insisting lawmakers elected by the people should have the final say over such legislation.
While the attorney general would typically represent the government in such a hearing, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara — a main target of the coalition’s attacks — has refused to defend the judicial overhaul in court. The sponsors of the law then turned to outside counsel.