“The hand stretched out in dialogue got stuck in the air,” said the head of the Israel Medical Association, Zion Hagay, on the strike. The Labor Court in Tel Aviv ordered an immediate return to work after the doctors’ strike was announced.
The court ruled that there was no urgency for the strike. However, hundreds of patients could be harmed by a work stoppage of this magnitude. “The concerns of the medical association are theoretical at this point, while the serious harm to patients is real,” the court said.
Numerous groups, including the Bar Association, have petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the new law. At the bottom of blacked-out front pages of three major Israeli daily newspapers Tuesday was “A black day for Israeli democracy.” The newspapers also published an advertisement by opponents of the judicial reform.
The Israeli parliament passed the so-called adequacy clause on Monday with the votes of all 64 members of the right-wing religious majority in government. It deprives the Supreme Court of the ability to declare government decisions “inappropriate” and overrule them. MPs from the opposition parties boycotted the vote, with several shouting “shame, shame”.
Opponents of the reform accompanied the parliamentary vote with renewed massive protests. Demonstrators remained on the streets, including in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, until late Tuesday night. According to the police, 58 people were arrested.
According to the police, a person who allegedly harmed the demonstrators was also arrested. The organizers of the protests said he drove a car into a group of people blocking a highway. In Tel Aviv, officials used water cannon to disperse protesters on a main thoroughfare.
Criticism of the adoption of the adequacy clause also came from Israel’s international allies. Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) reacted with concern. “The separation of powers and an independent judiciary are fundamental values of a liberal democracy that Germany and Israel share and that must be protected.”
Israel has “always been a beacon for democracy and the rule of law in the Middle East,” Buschmann told Der Spiegel on Tuesday. “Many friends of Israel are concerned that this light is not necessarily shining brighter now.”
The French Foreign Ministry also reacted with concern. “France is deeply committed to the democratic principles that have formed the basis of our friendship since Israel’s independence,” it said in a statement.
The adequacy clause is one of the most controversial parts of judicial reform. This aims to limit the powers of the judiciary and the Supreme Court and strengthen the position of Parliament and the Prime Minister. Critics fear for democracy in Israel as a result of the weakening of the judiciary. Proponents, on the other hand, argue that the balance in the separation of powers should be restored.
The judicial reform divides the Israeli population. People across the country have been protesting against the project for more than half a year.
