The Proposed Legislative Reform - Implications for Israel's National Security

INSS researcher Adi Kantor sits down with senior researcher Col. (res.) Adv. Pnina Sharvit Baruch, who heads the program on Law and National Security at INSS, to discuss her special publication (co-authored with Dr. Bell Yosef from Tel Aviv University) on the independence of Israeli courts and the connection to Israel’s national security. The new legislative reform, introduced to the public by Justice Minister Yariv Levin on January 4, 2023, is apparently one of the most burning issues on the Israeli agenda at the moment, as it is seen by many sectors in Israeli society as an attempt at a legislative coup that threatens to change the very basic democratic and liberal principles on which Israel was established. The purpose of the podcast is to understand what is meant by the term “liberal democracy” in the Israeli context; how is it connected to national security; what are the dangers in this proposed reform to the judicial system; what are the implications on social, legal, economic, and security levels (both domestic and international); and what should be the recommendations for decision makers based on the following analysis.