I am reprinting below the lead editorial in the Israeli daily newspaper (Hebrew and English editions) of Haaretz on July 25, 2023. It reflects the position of the majority of Israeli citizens across political, religious, and demographic lines who have been demonstrating in the streets throughout Israel over the past seven months, as well as thousands of Israelis living in Diaspora communities and major American Jewish communal and religious organizations. It spares no punches and shines a light on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s desperate and destructive effort to stay out of jail on corruption charges and on the chaos he has wrought over many years using divisive and hostile rhetoric against any Israeli political party, NGO, or group of Israelis and Diaspora Jews that criticize him and his government’s policies by insinuating that they are treasonous.

Leaders of the Israeli opposition are being called upon, despite the gravity of what this government is doing and plans to do, not to give up the fight for Israeli democracy. Petitions are currently being drafted for the Israeli Supreme Court to reject the “reasonableness standard” legislation that passed in the Knesset earlier this week.

Our Reform movement in Israel, represented by the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) and the Israeli Religious Action Center (IRAC), called upon more than a thousand leaders of the North American Reform movement yesterday (July 25) in an international webinar to keep in mind the following and to stay active on behalf of Israeli democracy:

1. There is far more to the government’s anti-democratic actions than judicial reform. The government’s efforts also are an assault on religious pluralism in the state and on Reform movement rights as a religious minority;
2. Do not allow the rights of the Palestinians to get lost in the dust of this judicial struggle. Palestinian rights and the rights of all minorities in Israel (e.g. LGBTQ, women, Palestinian-Israeli citizens, Druze-Israeli citizens, etc.) are at stake as are the rights of the Palestinian people to a state of their own alongside a secure Israel;
3. We American Jews who have personal relationships with our congressional representatives in Washington, D.C. are urged to make contact with them and encourage them to contact Israeli Members of the Knesset whom they know to express their support for Israel’s democracy and against the Israeli government’s extremist anti-democratic actions;
4. Make contact with your Israeli friends and family and let them know you are with them and support them in this time of crisis;
5. Urge your American Reform synagogue to partner with an Israeli Reform synagogue – contact the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) at https://arza.org/;
6. Do not call for American aid to Israel to become “conditional.” Already, American law conditions military aid around the world. Nothing more is necessary and to punish Israel will send the wrong message to Israelis and to American allies around the world about American intentions vis a vis the State of Israel. There are many ways that the Biden administration can influence Israel, and we should be advocating that the President exercise that influence strongly and effectively now. Conditioning American aid further than what the law already states in the midst of this crisis would be counter-productive;
7. Join with Israelis in America on Motzei Shabbat (Saturday evenings) who are demonstrating against what the Israeli government is doing – see https://www.unxeptable.org/events?utm_medium=email&utm_content=2023_7_25;
8. If you travel to Israel and wish to join the Saturday night protests, our Reform movement will connect you to communities with which you can march in solidarity. Phone +972-2-6203448;
9. Become a member of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) – https://arza.org/arza-membership/ – ARZA is the largest Zionist organization in the American Zionist Movement and the Israeli Reform movement needs us as their partners in this battle for the soul of Israel;
10. Contribute to the IMPJ/ARZA Emergency Fund – https://reform.org.il/en/campaign-2023/

It is far too soon to give up on the greatest accomplishment of the Jewish people in the past 2000 years – the establishment and development of the modern democratic and Jewish State of Israel.

Here is that Haaretz editorial:

“The 64 Knesset members who voted on Monday in favor of the law canceling the reasonableness standard have struck a serious blow to the State of Israel’s infrastructure of democracy and have signaled the direction in which they plan to take the country, namely dictatorship. They did it in a Knesset empty of opposition lawmakers, befitting of an imperious group that chose to ignore the millions of citizens who took to the streets for weeks to express their concern about the change in Israel’s democratic structure.

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All those 64 will be remembered forever as being responsible for crushing the rule of law and fatally undercutting the separation of powers. Even the moderate forces in the coalition, who worked to forge a compromise with the opposition and soften the terms of the law, will not be able to wash their hands of it. They are no less responsible for this black day than the law’s architects – Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman.

But the heaviest blame falls on Benjamin Netanyahu. The most destructive prime minister in Israel’s history has again proven that he is prepared to sacrifice Israel’s democracy for his personal political survival. Netanyahu is smashing Israel into tiny parts using the divide and conquer method. He incites and stirs up emotions, disrupts, tears the social fabric, crushes the rule of law and weakens the judicial system – all in order to escape the horror of judgment. Netanyahu is taking revenge on the system that decided to put him on trial, and along the way he is taking revenge on the entire country.

Following passage of the law on Monday, Levin and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir made clear that this was only the beginning. “We have taken the first step in the important historical process of reforming the judicial system,” Levin said. Ben-Gvir promised that “we must pass the rest of the reform, primarily the change to the composition of the Judicial Appointments Committee and the change to the powers of ministry legal advisers.” There is no mistaking their intention. The change in Israel’s constitutional structure aims to turn the country into a theocratic, bigoted, racist and dark state, where women, LGBT people, Arab citizens and other minorities will be discriminated against; a country that will annex the occupied territories and establish an official rule of apartheid.

Monday was a sad and painful day for everyone who holds Israeli democracy dear. However, the last few weeks have proven that the battle is not lost; that the democratic camp, which in recent years seemed to have lost its way, has consolidated and become a mighty force ready to sacrifice itself for the high values of democracy, liberalism and rule of law. The leaders of the opposition fully appreciate this and therefore did not agree to a compromise that amounted to a horse trade in democratic values.

The democratic camp must fight until victory. It was a painful loss in battle on the way to victory in Israel’s second war of independence.”