Israel Rejects Claim Mossad Backed Judiciary Overhaul Protests

People hold Israeli flags during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 8, 2023. (Nir Elias/Reuters)

Israel’s government on Sunday rejected claims raised in documents allegedly leaked from the Pentagon that leaders of its foreign intelligence service Mossad had supported nationwide protests against a proposed overhaul of Israel’s judiciary.

The New York Times on Saturday published an assessment it attributed to a Central Intelligence Update from March 1 that Mossad leadership had encouraged its staff and Israeli citizens to join the mass protests. The paper said that while the leaked documents seemed authentic, it did not mean they were accurate.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the report was “mendacious and without any foundation whatsoever”.

“The Mossad and its senior officials did not—and do not—encourage agency personnel to join the demonstrations against the government, political demonstrations or any political activity,” it said.

Netanyahu’s overhaul plan has sparked unprecedented public anger since his coalition came to power late last year, and has also caused alarm among Israel’s Western allies.

The proposed legislation would enable parliament to override Supreme Court decisions and hold control over judicial appointments.

After weeks of intensifying demonstrations, Netanyahu in late March relented and said he would delay the contested reforms to allow for compromise talks with opposition parties.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it was in touch with the Defense Department and had began a probe into the leak of the alleged documents, covering several subjects relating to national security. It declined further comment.

Thousands Join Judicial Protests

Tens of thousands of Israelis joined protests on Saturday against the government’s judicial overhaul plans.

Netanyahu has mobilized border police reservists and ordered the army to reinforce security positions to head off possible trouble, amid calls for calm from the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States.

In central Tel Aviv, crowds waving the blue and white Israeli flags that have become a hallmark of the protests over the past three months gathered in a show of defiance against plans they see as an existential threat to Israeli democracy.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, including army reservists, business leaders, members of Israel’s tech industry and leading academics have taken part, facing off against supporters of Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition.

The government side, which accuses activist judges of increasingly usurping the role of parliament, says the overhaul is needed to restore a proper balance between the judiciary and elected politicians.

Critics say it will remove some of the vital checks and balances underpinning a democratic state and hand unchecked power to the government.

Before the protests, police had urged people to leave roads clear to allow emergency services to move freely following Friday’s car-ramming on a popular shoreline promenade in Tel Aviv.