Israel Divided Over Judicial Overhauls – Ideas Which Originated with New Yorkers

By: Hellen Zaboulani

Israel has been shaken to its core over the proposed judicial overhauls, which would limit the Supreme Court’s power over lawmaking and public policy and give the government control over the selection of judges.

As reported by the NY Times, two of the major figures pushing the overhauls behind the curtains are actually Americans—and New Yorkers at that.  The first is Professor Moshe Koppel, who founded Kohelet in 2012 as a think tank that has been trying to influence government policy towards libertarianism.

Kohelet is an Israeli conservative, right-wing nonprofit that has been inconspicuously working in the background to put out publications and policy papers to strengthen representative democracy, and expand individual liberty and free-market principles in Israel.  The organization is now becoming well-known as one of the key architects of the judicial reforms proposed that have led to the country’s high-profile divide.  In a recent “national day of resistance,” a group of army reservists gathered outside Kohelet’s office in Jerusalem protesting.  “The Kohelet Policy Forum has been hiding in the shadows,” said one speaker, who stood on a car. “But we are onto them and we will not let them win!”

Koppel, a 66-year-old mathematics Ph.D. from Queens who moved to Israel in 1980, now employs over 150 scholars to draft laws and produce policy papers.  “I don’t want to sound arrogant,” he told Ami, an Orthodox Jewish magazine, in 2019, “but in some sense we’re the brains of the Israeli right wing.”

Per the NY Times, the second reported influencer from NY, also from Queens, is a big-time philanthropic donor to Kohelet.  Arthur Dantchik, a 65-year-old multi-Billionaire from Queens, has donated millions to the conservative think tank, the Times reported.  Dantchik, who has an estimated net worth of $7.5 billion, is a cofounder of Susquehanna International Group, one of Wall Street’s largest trading firms.  Kohelet is not required to disclose the identities of individual donors, and neither Mr.  Koppel or Mr. Dantchik confirmed any details regarding the charitable fundings.

Of late, Israel has been divided, with hundreds of thousands of Israelis  (and some say even half-a-million) participating in nationwide protests held on Saturday evenings, ongoing now for 11 consecutive weeks.  The legal system reforms, which are supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line government, aim to curb the powers of unelected judges.  Protesters say the changes would undermine Israel’s democracy by limiting the power of the Supreme Court and making it harder to strike down laws passed by legislators.  The critics add that the courts provide checks and balances and protect minority rights.  Proponents, including Mr. Koppel argue that the most imminent threat to Israeli democracy is activist judges, whose powers are virtually unlimited at this time.

The crisis has drawn broad international criticism.  As per the Associated Press, on Sunday, President Joe Biden spoke to Netanyahu, expressing “concern” over the reforms and trying to persuade him to compromise.  A senior White House administration official described the call as “candid and constructive,” saying Biden spoke “as a friend of Israel in the hopes that there can be a compromise formula found.”  Netanyahu reassured Biden that Israel will “remain, a strong and vibrant democracy,” as per the prime minister’s office.  On Sunday, Netanyahu said the legal changes only are meant to correct an imbalance that has given too much power to courts, adding that the overhauls would be carried out responsibly while protecting the basic rights of all Israelis.