Israeli culture reps want Germany, Britain to disinvite Netanyahu

Around 1,000 Israeli artists, writers and academics wrote to the ambassadors of Germany and Britain demanding Netanyahu's upcoming visits to their countries be cancelled because of his plans to change the judiciary.

“The State of Israel is currently facing a most terrible crisis, the most extreme in its history, an accelerated dangerous process led by its elected government to turn it from a flourishing democracy into a theocratic dictatorship," the letter said.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported the letter. The signatories include writer David Grossman and sculptor Sigalit Landau.

Netanyahu is scheduled to start a three-day visit to Germany on Wednesday, and media reports said the Israeli prime minister plans to visit London in the second half of March.

Berlin police announced on Tuesday heightened security measures for the Israeli premier's visit.

"We are asking that Germany and Great Britain swiftly announce to the defendant Netanyahu that his planned state visits to your countries are cancelled. If these visits go ahead as planned, a dark shadow will hang over them,” the letter writers stated.

Netanyahu is facing criminal charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, the writers noted, and critics believe the judicial reforms are an attempt by him to avoid justice.

"The trials are being held and are in process. To escape from justice, Mr Netanyahu has conspired against the State of Israel with anti-Zionist, fundamental and Messianic entities, and with convicted Jewish terrorists, who together promote racist, homophobic and undemocratic agendas" which are targeted against all Israelis, whether at home or abroad.

They noted that Netanyahu returned to Israel on Monday from a state visit to Italy, accompanied by his wife, that was supposed to be short, but it wasn't and the Israeli taxpayer paid for that.

The cultural and academic personalities behind the letter said Netanyahu wants to convert the Israeli police into "a political police, a tool that every dictatorship needs in order to enforce state power on citizens."

The many creative professionals said the changes "will badly hurt civil rights in Israel, including the right to literary and artistic free speech, and to the abolishment of the freedom of authors and artists in Israel."

The writers noted that both Germany and Britain have supported Israel as a democratic home for Jews - and as such Israel needs their support "more than ever."

There are currently regular large-scale demonstrations in Israel against the judicial reform pushed by Netanyahu's right-wing religious government. Among other things, it is to be made possible for the Knesset, or parliament, to overturn decisions of the Supreme Court with a simple majority.

Critics see this as a threat to the separation of powers.