For months, hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens have taken to the streets to protest government plans to overhaul the judiciary—including plans that would vitiate checks on executive power, allow a simple majority of 61 in the 120-seat Knesset to override almost any ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court, and permit politicians to appoint most of the Court’s justices. Both the protests and proposed reforms take place against the backdrop of significant demographic changes which, in turn, have enhanced the power and parliamentary representation of Israel’s religious parties. Given the Knesset’s current makeup therefore, the reforms will—at least indirectly—grant the religious parties extensive influence over Israeli society.

In this episode, Middlebury College political geographer and Professor of Geosciences Tamar Mayer explains why these plans for judicial reform have pitted the government against many of its citizens, what is at stake in this crisis, and why the roots of this crisis stretch far back into Israel’s past.

SHOW NOTES:

Podcast produced by Margaret DeFoor and Mark Williams.

Outro by Middlebury student Vee Syengo ‘25

Music Credits

• Forte by Kestra - Summer with Sound Album
• Soul Zone by Kestra - Light Rising Album

For more information on New Frontiers podcast episodes and guests visit the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs website.