Israel’s judicial reform plans under scrutiny as Canadian MPs debate

Netanyahu's government has allowed the expansion of settlements that are illegal under international law, and it wants to allow parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions.

Canadian members of Parliament are mulling how vigorously and publicly they should challenge moves by Israel’s far-right government to curtail the power of judges and expand illegal settlements on Palestinian land.

“Sometimes we have hard conversations, because we’re friends. But that doesn’t mean that the friendship is thrown out the window,” Liberal MP Ya’ara Saks said at a Wednesday panel of mostly Jewish MPs.

She was speaking at a conference organized by the Israeli embassy to mark the Middle Eastern state’s 75 years of existence, which comes as the Trudeau government has increasingly voiced concerns about the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

His government has allowed the expansion of settlements that are illegal under international law, and it wants to allow Israel’s parliament to overturn decisions by the country’s Supreme Court.

Canada has raised concerns about both these moves, as well as an uptick in terrorist attacks by Palestinian groups on Israelis and the Israeli police violently storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem last month.

Wednesday’s panel largely focused on the ongoing judicial reform that has prompted mass demonstrations in Israel.

Saks, who was born in Israel, has raised concern about the reform. But she stressed that it doesn’t change Canada’s long-standing policy of advocating for a two-state solution.

Regardless of how aligned Ottawa is with the government in Tel Aviv, she said Canada will advocate for self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians, and said aid funding for projects that aim to lower tensions between the two is key to building the conditions for peace.