Conservative rabbis in the US said they were “deeply alarmed” by recent moves by Israel’s government to reform the Supreme Court, in a statement released Wednesday.
The New York-based Rabbinical Assembly, the international group of Conservative rabbis, added that Levin's planned justice reforms amounted to an “attempted subversion of the authority of Israel’s High Court.”
Levin unveiled a new reform program on Wednesday that includes a “derogation clause” allowing parliamentary members to override decisions of the Supreme Court by vote.
“Israel flourishes as the Middle East's only democracy, guaranteed and sustained by an independent High Court,” the statement said.
The rabbis called it “excruciating” to watch Israel’s new government “undermine the core values of democracy and religious freedom that we value so deeply.”
“The Justice Minister’s interference with judicial review and particularly the proposed ‘override clause’ not only threaten the fundamental rights of Masorti/Conservative Jews everywhere, but the rights of all Israel's citizens and residents, regardless of their affiliation to any particular religious movement, nationality of origin, or ethnic background.”
This joins criticism of the new government at home, with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slamming the Netanyahu-led coalition as "a government of madness."
Levin earlier justified the reform by asserting it was needed for the preservation of democracy.
"There are judges, but there is also a parliament and a government," Levin said. "Democracy is in danger when we vote in the ballot box, but each time unelected people decide for us."
Reprinted with permission from i24NEWS