TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s president, who exercises a ceremonial role, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to halt his controversial judicial reform.
Isaac Herzog made his request hours after tens of thousands of people took to the country’s streets in a spontaneous show of outrage over Netanyahu’s decision to fire his defense minister, who had called for a pause on reform.
Herzog called on the government to put political considerations aside for the good of the nation.
“The entire nation is seized with deep concern. Our security, economy, society, everything is under threat,” she said. “Wake up now!”
The reform initiative has triggered one of Israel’s biggest internal crises, with widespread opposition from business leaders, legal officials and even the military.
The dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant seemed to indicate that the prime minister and his allies would press ahead with the reform plan this week. Gallant was the first senior member of the Likud party, which leads the governing coalition, to speak out against the plan, saying deep divisions threatened to weaken the army.
