Jerusalem, March 15 (EFE).- The Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, announced today a proposal for an alternative judicial reform to the one promoted by the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu, which seeks to increase the control of the Executive over Justice and is seen by the opposition and broad sectors of society as an attack to democracy.
“A full agreement is impossible, but a broad agreement on legal issues is what we should aim for at this critical moment. Israeli democracy is the founding basis of our State, “Herzog said in a televised appearance in which he unveiled his plan, dubbed the” Popular Directive for Reforms in the Judicial System.
The government judicial reform, which essentially undermines the independence of the Justice, has provoked the largest protests in the history of Israel for ten consecutive weeks, reaching a record half a million people last Saturday.
Since the controversial reform was announced in early January – which could be approved by the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) before the end of the month – Herzog has unsuccessfully tried to mediate between the government and the opposition, in addition to meeting with “thousands of ” of representatives of various social sectors to find out their positions and concerns.
“Those who think that a civil war is something that we cannot achieve, they have no idea,” Herzog said of the antagonistic positions he has seen in those meetings with social agents.
Bankers, workers in the booming high-tech sector, magistrates, lawyers, intellectuals, scientists, and even the military have expressed fears in recent months about the negative impact that the reform could have on Israel’s liberal democracy.
“In my life, in my worst nightmares, I never thought I would hear such words, even if they are from a minority. I heard amazing rhetoric. I heard a real and deep hatred from people of all parties, to whom the idea of blood in the streets no longer shocks them,” lamented the president.
Neither the government nor the opposition have yet ruled on Herzog’s proposal, although it would not be backed by the ruling coalition, according to the local press, but it caused Netanyahu to delay his trip to Germany today for several hours and hold meetings all afternoon with his government partners – the most right-wing and religious in the history of Israel – and parliamentarians from his Likud party.
“The guideline that I present today includes in a balanced way all the concerns and perceptions, it reflects all the agreements and the common denominator is there: it is not the guideline of the president, it is the guideline of the people,” Herzog said of his proposal, which he said had sent to all Knesset MPs.
Herzog explained that this alternative proposal seeks to achieve “justice and peace” and called for consensus in a highly polarized political scenario: “If only one side wins, the State of Israel will lose. In this guideline there are no winners or losers, it is a total victory for everyone”.
“This directive protects each and every citizen of Israel, enshrines Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” the president added.
The central laws of the controversial reform, including the “annulment clause” -which will prevent the Supreme Court from annulling laws or norms that are unconstitutional-, obtained preliminary approval in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) this week and are expected to pass definitively for end of the month.
The reform also includes provisions that would give the government full control over the appointment of judges, in addition to allowing political officials to occupy the positions of legal advisors in the ministries, aspects that imply the politicization of Justice, according to its detractors.