Ex-UK envoy to Israel fearful Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul will ‘undermine democracy’

Britain’s former top civil servant and ex-UK ambassador to Israel has said he is “fearful” the Benjamin Netanyahu government’s overhaul of the judiciary is an attempt “undermine democracy.”

Simon McDonald was speaking at a British Council backed UK-Israel Science Days event when he observed:”Visiting Israel last week, you couldn’t miss what is happening in Israel right now.

“We arrived at the evening when hundreds of thousands of people were protesting in Tel Aviv about the government plans to change the traditional system. All the Israelis I know are fearful that this is an attempt to undermine Israel as a democracy, a country of a rule of law and respect for human rights.

“And so far I have not heard anything from the government to allay those fears.”

McDonald, who was handed a peerage after four decades of service in the foreign office – becoming Lord McDonald of Salford – was speaking at an event held at the Houses of Parliament which he noted were “a special place.”

He also referenced visits to the UK this week by Israel’s foreign secretary Eli Cohen and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“There are to be, I predict, interesting meetings this week,” McDonald said of meeting between the Israeli’s and their UK counterparts, “the agenda is substantial.”

As well as serving as UK ambassador to Israel, between 2003-06,  and Germany,  back in London McDonald was adviser to Jack Straw when he was foreign secretary, and to Gordon Brown as prime minister.

From 2015 to 2020, he was the lead official in the Foreign Office, a post formally known as permanent undersecretary.