Is the Legal System a Slave to the Political System?

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Israelis are worried about what's going to happen for the ability to keep Israel as a driver of economic growth. The legal system will not be reliable, and people who are typically innovative today won't want to live here,. So the combination could really do terrible things to the economy. Netanyahu does have a majority in the government. What can this side accomplish? I can say to you that there is talk led largely by the president of Israel.

For months, Israeli citizens—including CEOs, doctors, hedge fund executives, lawyers, and soldiers—have protested in the streets against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to diminish the authority of the nation’s Supreme Court. The government aims to give Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, the power to overrule the court’s decisions with a simple majority vote. It could have far-reaching consequences within Israel—and for its standing as a strong democracy in a volatile region of the world.

Bloomberg’s Israel Bureau Chief Ethan Bronner joins this episode from Tel Aviv to talk about what’s at stake—and why so many Israelis from all walks of life are demanding Netanyahu withdraw the plan.