Israel's judicial overhaul delayed after mass protests and strikes

Israel’s former Prime Minister Yair Lapid has called on Benjamin Netanyahu's government to halt its judicial overhaul, telling the Knesset that the country has been "taken hostage by a bunch of extremists with no brakes and no boundaries."

"It is proof that this government has lost its brakes. It is a danger to the State of Israel, it is a danger to the security of Israel. Our home is in danger," he added.

Lapid called on Netanyahu to reverse his decision to fire Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and told lawmakers "we've never been closer to falling apart."

"Our national security is at risk, our economy is crumbling, our foreign relations are at their lowest point ever, we don't know what to say to our children about their future in this country. We have been taken hostage by a bunch of extremists with no brakes and no boundaries," said Lapid, who served as prime minister for five months before Netanyahu returned to power following November's election.

"It's almost too late, but it isn't too late yet. There are enough decent people in the Likud who can and should stop this madness," he said.

Israel’s main airport, Ben Gurion Tel Aviv, on Monday announced an immediate halt to all departing flights, as part of a strike raising pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel Airports Authority spokesperson Ofer Lefler told CNN that departures will be suspended immediately, although arriving flights will land as planned.

Lefler said the airport expected about 70,000 passengers on Monday, with half taking off and half landing.

At the airport, journalist Elliott Gotkine's flight was scheduled to take off at 11:30 a.m. local time (4:30 a.m. ET). He reported that the boarding process for his flight was suddenly stopped. 

Israel’s largest union federation on Monday called a “historic” general strike, to “stop this judicial revolution, this craziness,” Histadrut leader Arnon Bar-David announced in a televised speech.

“Stop this judicial process before it is too late,” Bar-David said, addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly.

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At its core, Israel's planned judicial overhaul would give the country's parliament, the Knesset, and therefore the parties in power, more control over the judiciary.

From how judges are selected, to what laws the Supreme Court can rule on, to even giving parliament power to overturn Supreme Court decisions, the changes would be the most significant shakeups to Israel’s judiciary since its founding in 1948.

What it means for Palestinians: Weakening the judicial branch could limit both Israelis and Palestinians in seeking the court’s defense of their rights if they believe they are compromised by the government.

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank could be affected, and of course, Palestinian citizens of Israel or those who hold residency cards would be directly affected. Israel’s Supreme Court has no influence on what happens in Gaza, which is ruled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Critics of the changes worry that if the politicians have more control, the rights of minorities in Israel, especially Palestinians living in Israel, would be impacted.

Last year, for example, the court halted the evictions of Palestinian families in the flashpoint neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, where Jewish groups have claimed ownership of land the families have lived on for decades.

At the same time, Palestinian activists have argued that the high court has further entrenched Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, having never considered the legality of Israeli settlements there, even though they’re considered illegal by most of the international community.

The high court has also been the subject of complaints from Israel’s far right and settlers, who say it is biased against settlers; they have condemned the court’s involvement in approving the eviction of settlers from Gaza and the Northern West Bank in 2005.

This month, 145 American Jewish leaders publicly distanced themselves from a member of the Israeli government, saying Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was not welcome in the United States.

It was a rare public rebuke of a sitting Israeli minister that brought together individuals from across the Jewish-American political spectrum. Smotrich “has long expressed views that are abhorrent to the vast majority of American Jews, from anti-Arab racism, to virulent homophobia, to a full-throated embrace of Jewish supremacy,” they said in a statement.

The comments came after the minister called for a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank to be “erased” after two Israeli brothers were shot and killed there, prompting a rampage through the area by Israeli Jewish settlers.

The episode is a symptom of the widening gap of values between many American Jews and Israel as the Jewish state shifts to the right. In December, Israel swore in the most right-wing government in its history, bringing in extremists known for controversial views. The cabinet has also pushed forward a plan to weaken the judiciary that has brought hundreds of thousands of Israeli protesters to the streets as well as criticism from Israel’s closest allies.

The government of Benjamin Netanyahu has become the target of near-regular criticism by the Biden administration. In its latest move, the US State Department last week summoned Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog after Israel’s parliament passed legislation that allows Jewish settlements to be rebuilt in parts of the occupied West Bank. It was the first summoning of an Israeli ambassador in the US in over a decade.

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Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was fired after he called for a pause in the government's drive to overhaul the country’s judicial system in a speech Saturday night.

Gallant is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

His speech made him the first government minister to take a public stance in favor of a delay in the reforms.

Gallant called for a pause “to allow the people of Israel to celebrate Passover and Independence Day together, and mourn together on Memorial Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day. These are holy days for us.”

Israeli Independence Day falls on April 26 this year. 

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday urged the government to immediately halt its planned judicial overhaul, saying: "the eyes of the whole world are on you."

Herzog called on the "leaders of all the Knesset factions, coalition and opposition alike, to put the citizens of the country above all, and to act responsibly and with courage without further delay."

"Come to your senses now! This is not a political moment, this is a moment for leadership and responsibility," he said.

Some context: Although the Israeli presidency is largely a ceremonial role, Herzog has been actively speaking with all parties calling for negotiations. Herzog has previously said the government’s proposed legislation was “misguided, brutal and undermines our democratic foundations,” and warned Israel was potentially on the brink of a “civil war.”

Israel's former prime minister Naftali Bennett has urged the country's leader Benjamin Netanyahu to suspend the government's plan for judicial reform and to enter into a dialogue. 

Bennett also said fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant should be reinstated.

Mass protests erupted in Israel Sunday after Netanyahu fired Gallant following his speech calling for a delay to the government's controversial plans to overhaul the judicial system.

Gallant said the pause was needed “to allow the people of Israel to celebrate Passover and Independence Day together, and mourn together on Memorial Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day. These are holy days for us.”

Israeli Independence Day falls on April 26 this year. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “I’m not trying to destroy democracy, I’m trying to save it,” in an exclusive interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan. 

Morgan posted the quote from the interview on his Twitter account on Sunday evening. 

The interview will air at 8 p.m. ET Monday on TalkTV and Fox Nation, according to Morgan’s tweet.