Israeli President Izchak Herzog has proposed a compromise in the bitter dispute over judicial reform in Israel. In a speech today, Herzog said that changes in the distribution of power between the three powers were necessary. However, this requires a broad consensus. Herzog published a plan on the Internet that he said would simultaneously strengthen parliament and government and ensure an independent judiciary.
The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to push through the controversial reform by the end of the month in a fast-track procedure. Core elements were already approved in the first reading in Parliament. The aim of the reform is the targeted weakening of the independent judiciary.
Critics see the separation of powers as a pillar of democracy in danger. There have been massive protests against the judicial reform for more than two months. Netanyahu wanted to meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Thursday.
Herzog said about the dispute over judicial reform that he had spoken to thousands of people on both sides in the past few weeks. “I’ve heard real hate,” he warned. “Anyone who thinks that a real fratricidal war is a limit that we will not reach has no idea. We are on the brink.”
