Protests continue in Israel as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspends controversial judicial regulation that has sparked mass protests and strikes across the country. The problem of political stability, which has not been achieved for the last four years, lies behind the emergence of such a major crisis in the country. Assoc. Prof. Dr.Fatih Fuat Tuncer, from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Istanbul Gelisim University remarked: “The current government's stepping back in the face of the protests will reveal a crack in the coalition. The government can hold a general election. Netanyahu has an important test ahead of him. However, it seems that he failed to pass this test. It is likely that Israel will go to re-election and start a new period with a government without Netanyahu.”

“Stability has not been achieved since the Cold War”

Stating that Israel has been in a political crisis for the last four years, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuncer listed the reasons for the political instability as follows:

“Israel may call a new election”

Evaluating how the protests will affect the government, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tuncer stated: “We witness that political parties with ideological differences come together to form a coalition, but they do not last very long. The main protests are that Netanyahu greedily brought together many far-right parties and formed the majority with 64 seats in the 120-seat Israeli parliament. In the process of forming this coalition, we see that each party has its own goals. This led to the judicial reform debate in the country these days. The judicial reform debate is not the first time in the country. A similar thing happened in 2021, again during the Netanyahu era. Again at that time, the reform package was withdrawn with the pressure of the society. However, in the process experienced today, both the coalition government side is very insistent and the protesters are very persistent. This shows that the country may call a new election.”

“Five general elections have been held in the last four years and political stability has not been achieved. The main reason for this is the main social groups in the country and the politics around them. The basic social dynamics in Israel were determined by the invisible rivalry and reconciliation between Sephardi and Ashkenazi after independence in 1948, howver, during the cold war many Jewish groups from different countries and cultures came to the country. This created a lot of social dynamics in the country. Social identities in the country are shaped not by ideologies, but by where they came from. Hence, we see many different political formations within the country. The most fundamental problem in the country is the problem of political stability, starting from the end of the cold war until the last election.

“Judicial reform undermines the division of powers”

Explaining why the judicial reform has received such a reaction from the society, Tuncer: “The parties that put forward the judicial reform package are racist and ultra-religious Zionist parties with far-right characters. These are parties with different views that have nothing to do with each other. The point that people do not miss and revolt is the armor of protection that judicial reform will give if members of the government commit any crime or corruption. Moreover, increasing the number of the existing system of judges from 9 to 11 and the majority of which will be elected by the current parliament will open the independence of the judiciary to discussion. People are protesting because the separation of powers in Israel would have been damaged to an impossible degree. A constitution made by the current government could negatively affect Israel's future.’’

“The issue of judicial reform will still be on the agenda, even if the government changes”

Commenting on how the protests could affect the domestic politics of the country, Tuncer pointed out: “Israel is in a very sensitive region. After the Arab-Israeli war, relations with Egypt are being tried to be carried out in a balanced way. Furthermore, there are steps that have been tried to be taken in recent years for the solution of the Palestinian issue. As a matter of fact, the status of Palestinians, who are current Israeli citizens, may deteriorate again while it has been relatively improved in recent years. In other words, there is a situation that complicates all special situations in society. At this point, the President of Israel has a great duty to provide social restraint. Due to the reaction of the USA and the International Jewish Diaspora on this issue, Netanyahu is expected to take a step back. However, the issue of judicial reform will be on the agenda in the coming days, as it has been on the agenda for the last few years, even if the government changes.”

Are the protests Israel's Arab Spring?

Evaluating the political crisis in Israel in terms of Middle East politics, Tuncer concluded his words as follow: “The state of Israel is a start-up state, as the trendy phrase of recent years has been. They have very sensitive relations in the region. The relationship with Egypt is very crucial. At this point, it is significant how the current Israeli government will improve relations with the Egyptian government. Egypt is seen as the most important actor in the Arab world and the region that has a say in Palestine. Apart from this, an initiative is being made with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the countries of the region. While Israel is trying to re-establish a relationship with all the actors in the region, dragging itself into such chaos does not create an Arab Spring-like effect. Because the initiation of a state won in Israel for discussion in 1948 will not be accepted by any part of the society. However, all these discussions will have an impact on the basic dynamics of Israeli society.