Moody's: Israel Judiciary Undermining... Negative Impact on National Credit Rating

[Image source=Yonhap News]

International credit rating agency Moody's has warned that the Israeli right-wing coalition's push to weaken the judiciary through legislation could negatively impact the country's credit rating.

On the 7th (local time), Moody's announced that it maintains Israel's sovereign credit rating at A1 with a positive outlook, but stated, "If the Israeli government proceeds with the judicial reform plan as originally proposed, there will be downward pressure on the rating." It is also analyzed that if the reform plan is implemented as is, Israel's attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment could decrease.

The Israeli right-wing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing legislation to reduce the powers of the Supreme Court. The legislation aims to prevent the Supreme Court from blocking parliamentary laws that contradict Israel's Basic Laws, which serve as a soft constitution, through judicial review, and to allow the ruling party to control the committee responsible for judicial appointments. If the bill is passed as originally proposed, the ruling party could use its parliamentary majority to neutralize judicial checks and balances.

The Israeli opposition, legal community, and civic groups have been holding weekend protests in major cities for nine consecutive weeks to oppose this.