|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Opposition has stated that those in favor of the reforms do not understand their contents. The survey results dispute this claim.
By: Batya Jerenberg – worldisraelnews.com
While the Opposition claims that most Israeli citizens are against the judicial reforms initiated by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a survey last week by Direct Polls and Channel 14 tells a different story.
The poll represents citizens from the center to the right of the political map, which was shown in the November elections to be the majority of the country.
When voters from the center-right were asked to what extent there is a need to fix the judicial system, 53% answered that there was a strong need, and 11% said there was somewhat of a need.
A whopping 91% of right-wing voters supported Levin’s reforms in general, as did 61% from the center-right.
Even among those who voted for the Opposition’s National Unity party, over a quarter (26%) were in favor of changes, as were a fifth of those who identify as centrists.
The Opposition has stated that those in favor of the reforms do not understand their contents. The survey results dispute this claim as well.
For example, a solid majority of 63% agree that the opinion of the attorney-general should be advisory rather than binding.
On the issue of whether the peoples’ representatives should constitute the majority of the Judges Nominating Committee, 85% of right-wing and 49% of center-right voters said yes, while around a quarter (24%) of National Unity supporters agreed.
In other news, WIN reported that Israeli high-tech companies are planning on holding a one-hour work stoppage Tuesday, dubbed a “warning strike” in protest of the Netanyahu government’s plans to reform the Israeli judiciary system.
A dozen ten high-tech companies have announced plans to take part in the strike, which will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Sharona Complex in Tel Aviv.
The companies which have signed onto the strike include Natural Intelligence, Hello Heart, Active Implants, AlgoSec, Piggy, Cheetah Technologies, Track160, Lemonade, Wiz, Redis, HoneyBook, Forter.
The organizers of the strike emphasized that participation in the protest would be voluntary, writing in a letter to the employees of the twelve companies involved: “We assume that you are aware of the public discourse about the legal reform and the protest it has provoked.”
“We have employees with diverse opinions and we always include and respect every person regardless of who they are. This coming Tuesday at 11:00 there will be a one-hour strike at the Sharona Complex, that will also be joined by high-tech employees. We as a company will allow employees who want to take part to demonstrate – each and every one according to their conscience and opinion.”
Tuesday’s planned protest follows large-scale demonstrations in Tel Aviv against the judicial reform plan.
Executives from a number of high-tech and venture capital firms called on their employees last week to join Saturday night’s protest.
“The large sums of capital invested in our industry are its sunshine and water. But no flower can bloom on rotten soil,” wrote Rona Segev, Shahar Tzafrir, Adi Yarel Toledano and Eitan Bek, executives of the venture capital firm TLV Partners.
“We say these things with a heavy heart and great pain, and we hold hope that the destructive actions will be stopped before it’s too late.”
The reform plan, drafted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, would enable the Knesset to veto Supreme Court rulings which strike down Knesset laws, as well as empower government ministers to select their own legal advisers – rather than rely on those appointed by the Justice Ministry.
