The Zionist watchdog organization Im Tirtzu launched a new public campaign this week calling to reform the “unchecked and overreaching” judicial system in Israel.
The campaign, called “Saving Israeli Democracy—Restoring Trust in the Justice System,” comes in light of the illegal leaks, witness coercion and other reported problematic aspects of the investigations against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Im Tirtzu, the controversy surrounding the investigations is merely a heightened manifestation of the dangers posed by what it said was Israel’s unchecked judicial and investigatory branch.
The group is therefore calling for major judicial reforms, including establishing an independent audit mechanism for the State Attorney’s Office, changing the way in which court justices are selected, legislating a Basic Law enshrining the separation of powers between the branches of government and establishing a committee of inquiry into the Netanyahu investigations.
The campaign will include extensive activities on social media and on the ground, according to the group, including protests outside the homes of senior bureaucrats in the justice system, and will aim to gather tens of thousands of signatures calling for judicial reforms.
According to Im Tirtzu, within the first few hours of publicizing the petition, thousands had already signed.
Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg said that the state of affairs of Israel’s justice system is unparalleled in the Western world.
“Israel is under the thumb of a judicial oligarchy, which stands in contravention to the basic values of democracy,” said Peleg.
“All of the important decisions over the past 20 years were not decided upon by elected officials, but rather by a group of judges and legal advisers whose worldview represents a small minority of the public,” he said, adding: “We call on the nation to join us in standing up for democracy and for the future of Israel.”
