Jewish Bubba: Comparison of Democracy of USA and Israel: A Difference of Opinion Acting Upon Uproar in Israel

Nadene Goldfoot

Israelis do not want their Democracy messed with. They want things left alone in their government. Netanyahu is all for upgrading it, especially the judicial part. The results have been news and TV pictures of the whole country rebelling with demonstrations of miles and miles of Israelis walking with signs.

Netanyahu claims the Judiciary has more power than the rest of the government. He's actually been harmed by it, personally, so he has even more motivation than others. The most respectful American defense lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, sides with him and has given him the suggestion that he needs to change the judiciary to meet the standards in the USA, as I understand. So what's the differences?

The USA has 3 sections of their Democratic government; The Constitution of the United States divides the federal government into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. This ensures that no individual or group will have too much power. Each provides its own checks and balances. Each branch of government can change acts of the other branches:

The president can veto legislation created by Congress. He or she also nominates heads of federal agencies and high court appointees.
Congress confirms or rejects the president's nominees. It can also remove the president from office in exceptional circumstances.
The Justices of the Supreme Court, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, can overturn unconstitutional laws.
Demonstrators against the judicial reform in Haifa, 11 January 2023. The protester's sign reads a quote from the Hebrew Bible: "How is the faithful city become an harlot! Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards." (Isaiah 1:21–23)

Israel is a parliamentary democracy, consisting of legislative, executive and judicial branches. Its institutions are :

the Presidency,

the (parliament),

the Government (cabinet),

the Judiciary and

the State Comptroller.

Netanyahu says Israel's judicial has too much power. He wants itfixed.

Under Israel's current constitutional framework, all legislation, government orders, and administrative actions of state bodies are subject to judicial review by the , which has the power to strike down legislation and reverse executive decisions it determines to be in violation of Israel's Basic ...Law.

Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty (1992)

Passed on March 17, 1992, by the Twelfth . The law determines that the basic human rights in Israel are based on the recognition of the value of the human being, the sanctity of his life, and his being a free person.

The Supreme Court in Jerusalem is the highest court of Israel and the final court of appeals. The Court consists of 15 Justices and two Registrars. The head of the Supreme Court and of the whole judicial system is the President of the Supreme Court. Justice Esther Hayut currently serves in this position.

In contrast, the USA Supreme Court has 9 judges.

Yariv Gideon Levin (Hebrew: יָרִיב גִּדְעוֹן לֵוִין, born 22 June 1969) is an Israeli lawyer and politician who serves as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice.

There is infighting going on between the judges. Justice Minister Yariv Levin called Hayut a "political party" and accused her of trying to "set the streets on fire." The lady, head of all the judges, said that The government’s planned judicial reform will “crush” the judicial system, Supreme Court President Esther Hayut warned at the annual convention of the Israeli Association of Public Law on Thursday. She doesn't want the boat rocked at all.

In January 2023, Levin unveiled a governmental plan for a legislative overhaul of the country's judicial system. The plan seeks to weaken the Supreme Court of Israel by granting the government effective control over the Judicial Selection Committee, prohibiting the court from ruling on the constitutionality of certain laws and regulations, and granting the Knesset the power to override any court ruling by a simple majority.

The comparison with USA is that When the Supreme Court rules on a constitutional issue, that judgment is virtually final; its decisions can be altered only by the rarely used procedure of constitutional amendment or by a new ruling of the Court. However, when the Court interprets a statute, new legislative action can be taken.

Dershowitz's recommendation is: Implicit in the first reform is the belief that the Supreme Court has gone too far in asserting its power over a broad array of issues. Proponents of the reform have a point. The Supreme Court should have only limited authority over largely economic and political issues, such as the gas deal with Lebanon or the ability of a particular individual to serve in the government. It would be reasonable for the Knesset to be able to override such decisions, which do not involve the fundamental rule of law.

Courts have no special competence in those areas, and the popular will, as reflected by elected legislators, should generally prevail over the opinions of appointed judges. But when it comes to decisions regarding basic issues of civil liberties, human rights, minority rights, civil rights, due process, free speech, religious liberty, equal protection and other enduring aspects of individual liberty, the Supreme Court should have the last word.

Resource:

https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2023/07/bribery-charges-against-three-time.html

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-728405

https://supreme.court.gov.il/sites/en/Pages/Overview.aspx

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rlzbe0jjt#autoplay?utm

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https://embassies.gov.il/pretoria/AboutIsrael/State/Pages/

Israeli-democracy.aspx#:~:text=%E2%80%8BIsrael%20is%20

a%20parliamentary,Judiciary%20and%20the%20State%

20Comptroller.

https://www.usa.gov/branches-of-government#:~:text=

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