8 | FEBRUARY 16 • 2023 

essay

A Dialogue is Needed on Judicial Reform
W

e have recently 
seen a host of 
harsh statements 
from opponents of the con-
stitutional revolution being 
advanced by the Israeli gov-
ernment. These 
denunciations, 
followed by 
counterattacks 
from propo-
nents of judicial 
reform, have 
moved Israel a 
few steps closer 
to the abyss.
The current atmosphere is 
combustible. In just the past 
few days, strident, dangerous 
and reprehensible statements 
have been made that may 
not have killed anyone but, 
as Israeli history teaches us, 
could potentially motivate 
“one madman” to take vio-
lent action and significantly 
worsen the situation.
A survey conducted by the 
Jewish People Policy Institute 
(JPPI) via the Smith Institute 
has revealed that a signifi-
cant percentage of Israelis 
fear a deterioration into 
violence. A third of respon-
dents believe there is a “fairly 
strong or strong” chance 
that the battle over the judi-
cial reforms will degenerate 
into violence and mass civil 
unrest
Perhaps not surprisingly, 
this fear is more prevalent 
among opponents of the 
reforms (44%) than among 
supporters (27%). This is 
likely because the atmo-
sphere of urgency is stronger 
among the opposition.
These troubling find-
ings can be explained by 

the fact that most of those 
aware of the reforms (44%) 
oppose them, as opposed 
to 41% who support them. 
Moreover, over a third of 
Israelis (37%) think the gov-
ernment lacks a mandate to 
advance such an extensive 
reform package without a 
broad consensus. Even a sig-
nificant proportion of right-
wing voters (31%) feel this 
way, though a similar share 
hold that the government 
does have a legitimate basis 
for advancing the reforms, 
even if they are extremely 
controversial.

AVOID AN ABYSS
What could keep us from 
falling into the abyss? It’s 
simple: dialogue. Half of the 
Israeli public believes that 
opponents and proponents 
of the reforms should sit 
down and talk in order to 
reach points of agreement. 
Fifty-eight percent of those 
opposed to the reforms hold 
this view, while 43% of those 
in favor support dialogue as 

well.
The survey also asked who 
Israelis think should play a 
central role in the effort to 
impose compromise on the 
two sides of the constitution-
al revolution. The findings 
are interesting here as well: 
While a third of the respon-
dents feel that the Knesset 
should and presumably could 
do so, over a third believe 
Israel’s President Isaac 
Herzog is the most appropri-
ate party to lead the effort, 
along with 39% who believe 
that legal and academic 
experts are best suited to the 
task.
The five election cycles 
to which Israelis have been 
subjected over the last three 
years have intensified and 
heightened internal discord 
to a level that feels unprece-
dented. 
The government-promot-
ed judicial reforms, which 
seek to change Israel’s con-
stitutional framework and 
government structure — and 
thus the character of the 

state — are being pushed in 
the context of an already-po-
larized society. The govern-
ment’s use of its power to 
the fullest extent possible 
in order to introduce such 
dramatic changes amid deep 
controversy endangers our 
existence.
The survey findings, which 
confirm the results of similar 
polls taken over the past few 
days, chart a path out of the 
crisis. The public, encom-
passing both supporters and 
opponents of the govern-
ment, wants the two sides to 
find a way to talk.
On the one hand, we have 
the “not one judicial inch” 
proponents, who sincerely 
fear for our democracy and 
are unprepared for even the 
smallest compromise. On 
the other hand, we have a 
democratically elected gov-
ernment, some of whose 
members are determined 
to exhaust all the means at 
their disposal to enact the 
reforms, and are not willing 
to listen to others or attempt 
to strike a balance between 
the two sides. 
Both of these groups need 
to come to their senses, 
heed the voice of the Israeli 
majority and, together, stop 
the downward spiral before 
real violence engulfs the 
country. 

Dr. Shuki Friedman is vice president of 

the Jewish People Policy Institute and 

a lecturer in law at the Peres Academic 

Center. He is the author of a newly 

released textbook Being a Nation State 

in the Twenty-First Century: Between 

State and Synagogue in Modern Israel 

published by Academic Studies Press.

PURELY COMMENTARY

Shuki 
Friedman
JNS.org

