Israeli President Izchak Herzog is pushing for a compromise between the government and the opposition shortly before a decisive vote in parliament on part of the controversial judicial reform.
According to his office, he met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Jair Lapid on Sunday evening. “An agreement must be reached,” demanded Herzog. All previous negotiations between the right-wing coalition and the opposition have so far been unsuccessful.
The parliament in Jerusalem started a marathon session yesterday to finalize a core element of the controversial plans. It may be voted on today. The law is part of a larger package that critics see as a threat to Israel’s democracy. Some even warn against the introduction of a dictatorship.
Opponents and supporters demonstrated
Both opponents and supporters of the judicial reform demonstrated on Sunday evening. While tens of thousands of supporters of the planned restructuring of the judiciary gathered in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, tens of thousands who opposed the project gathered in the capital Jerusalem. A demonstration for a consensus between the two camps also took place in Jerusalem on Sunday afternoon. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets across the country on Saturday against the judicial reform.
According to media reports, the meeting between Netanyahu and Herzog took place in the hospital. The 73-year-old was given a pacemaker there. According to the doctors, he survived the procedure well.
A coalition of the country’s 150 largest companies called for a strike today. According to the media, some large shopping centers are also affected by the work stoppage. Several large high-tech companies are also reportedly planning to join the strike. The start-up scene is considered the most important driver of the Israeli economy.
Is there a general strike?
According to the media, the umbrella organization of trade unions (Histadrut) wants to decide today whether to call a general strike. Opponents of the reform have been calling for this for a long time. The trade union federation, which has 800,000 members, had already called for a general strike at the end of March because of Netanyahu’s dismissal of Defense Minister Joav Galant. Galant had previously criticized the restructuring of the judiciary. Netanyahu then temporarily suspended the plans, and Galant’s dismissal was reversed.
The defense minister recently announced that he was trying to reach a “consensus” in the dispute over the reform. Resistance to the government’s plan is growing from within the army. Around 10,000 reservists announced at the weekend that they no longer wanted to appear on duty if the coalition did not stop their plans. According to reports, this could significantly affect the operational readiness of the military.
