Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו profile
Public controversy over the 2023 judicial overhaul and mass protests
Coverage of the reported firing of Defense Minister Gallant, Knesset passage of the reasonableness law, historic protests, and the Supreme Court's Jan 2024 strike-down of that law. Critics called it a threat to democracy; the government called it rebalancing powers.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Reported Gallant firing sparks mass protests - The BBC and The Guardian reported that on March 26, 2023 Netanyahu said he was firing Yoav Gallant after Gallant publicly urged a pause in the judicial overhaul. Mass street protests followed; the dismissal was later effectively reversed. Israel defence minister fired in legal reform row
- Knesset passes reasonableness law - The Guardian and BBC reported that on July 24, 2023 the Knesset passed 64-0 a key judicial-overhaul measure limiting the Supreme Court's power to strike down government decisions as unreasonable after the opposition walked out. Large protests followed. Israeli parliament votes in Netanyahu's controversial supreme court changes
- Supreme Court strikes down reasonableness law - The BBC and The Guardian reported that on Jan. 1, 2024 Israel's Supreme Court struck down the reasonableness law 8-7, saying it caused severe and unprecedented harm to Israel's democratic character - the first time the court annulled a Basic Law. Israel Supreme Court strikes down judicial reforms