Israel: President Isaac Herzog calls for “immediately” suspending court reform contested in the streets

A call “in the name of the unity of the people of Israel”. On Twitter, Monday March 27, the President d’Israel, Isaac Herzogasked the government of Binyamin Netanyahu to stop “immediately” the legislative work on the judicial reform project, in response to the “deep concern” expressed by the protesters.

“Security, economy, society, everything is under threat. The eyes of the people of Israel are on you. The eyes of all the Jewish people are on you. The eyes of the whole world are on you.”

Isaac Herzog, President of Israel

on Twitter

The Head of State launched this appeal after thousands of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv (Israel) overnight from Sunday to Monday in line with the dismissal of the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, which called for a month-long pause in reform.

Towards a general strike?

On Monday morning, Arnon Bar David, the head of the Israeli trade union center Histadrut, called for “a general strike” immediately during a press conference, while demanding an end to the judicial reform desired by the government and which is deeply dividing the country.

This highly controversial reform aims to increase the power of elected officials over that of magistrates in Israel. It jeopardizes the democratic character of the Jewish state, according to opponents of the project. Binyamin Netanyahu and his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies consider it necessary, on the contrary, to restore a balanced balance of power between elected officials and the Supreme Court, which they accuse of being politicized.

In reaction to the dismissal of the Minister of Defence, uA large crowd gathered overnight in Tel Aviv to protest the plan. Demonstrations took place in more than 150 locations across the country, according to police. Israel’s main labor and business leaders, who met yesterday, are to call a general strike on Monday.