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On Monday, March 27, 2023, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on the government to “immediately stop” the legislative path of the project to amend the judicial system, after clashes were recorded between demonstrators and the police in Tel Aviv last night.
“Last night we saw very difficult scenes,” Herzog said in a statement issued by his agency.
“The entire nation is deeply concerned. Our security, our economy and our society are under threat,” he added, calling on “the prime minister, members of the cabinet and members of the majority” to act.
He continued, “The eyes of the people of Israel are fixed on you. The eyes of the entire Jewish people are fixed on you. The eyes of the entire world are fixed on you.” The previous calls of the Israeli president to reach a settlement on the reform project have not been heard so far and did not prevent the country from sinking into a crisis.
Herzog stressed, “In the name of the unity of the people of Israel (..) I call on you to immediately stop” the legislative path that causes divisions in the country.
On Sunday evening, thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant from his post, after he publicly called on Saturday to suspend reform, expressing his fear for Israel’s security.
The draft amendment proposed by Netanyahu’s government, one of Israel’s most right-wing governments, aims to increase the power of parliamentarians over the judiciary.
Protests have been organized against the project for nearly three months, in a mobilization considered one of the largest in the history of Israel. Critics of the reform believe that it would endanger democracy in Israel.
