Israel’s Opposition Leaders Unite Against Judicial Reforms
As tens of thousands of Israelis flocked to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other locations across the country to protest the government’s judicial reforms, the leaders of the opposition parties gathered in the Knesset to issue a joint call for the legislative process to be halted to allow for discussions on the controversial overhaul.
Opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid appealed directly to senior lawmakers from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. At a certain stage, politics end and the good of the country comes first, Lapid said, singling out Danny Danon, David Bitan, Nir Barkat and Avi Dichter among others.
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National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz, a former defense minister and IDF chief of staff, accused the government of putting its legislative agenda ahead of the security of the country during a wave of deadly violence. He said the legislation process for the reforms had to be put on hold and that every branch of the government must work together to tackle the violence.
The two were joined by Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman and Labor head Merav Michaeli.
The proposed reforms would allow the Knesset to override a court decision with a simple majority, with parliament able to reinstate laws that the court has already revoked. Courts would also be barred from using a test of “reasonability” in order to revoke government decisions. Another proposal to give lawmakers sole power over the selection of judges was approved by the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Monday morning, despite a plea from President Isaac Herzog on Sunday night to halt the divisive reforms in order for dialogue to take place.
