John,
For over two decades, Mike has supported efforts in Israel to improve medical facilities, co-founded a leadership center, supported its innovative local programs, and more, but has not gotten involved in its domestic policies – until now.
In a new proposal from Israel’s government, a simple majority of the Knesset – Israel’s unicameral legislature – could overrule the nation’s Supreme Court, including on matters such as speech and press freedoms, equal rights for minorities, and voting rights.
As Mike writes in a guest essay for The New York Times, “The Knesset could even go as far as to declare that the laws it passes are unreviewable by the judiciary, a move that calls to mind Richard Nixon’s infamous phrase ‘When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.’” He continues, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is courting disaster by trying to claim that same power, imperiling Israel’s alliances around the world, its security in the region, its economy at home and the very democracy upon which the country was built.”
Israel and the United States share values such as freedom, equality, and democracy which can only be sustained by a commitment to the rule of law. Mike writes, “If Israel retreats from that long-term commitment and moves its model of governance toward one that mirrors those of authoritarian countries, it risks weakening its ties to the United States and other free nations.”
Mike says it is his fervent hope that Prime Minister Netanyahu convinces his coalition to heed pleas to “pull back and slow down.”
Take a moment to read Mike’s guest essay in
The New York Times where he speaks out against Israel’s government attempting to effectively abolish the nation’s independent judiciary:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/05/opinion/michael-bloomberg-israel-netanyahu.html Thanks,
MikeBloomberg.com
