Netanyahu Decides to Advance Judicial Reform Legislation This Week after Opposition Suspends Talks

JERUSALEM, Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced at Sunday's Cabinet meeting that the coalition will push forward legislation on judicial reform after opposition leaders suspended talks at the President's House for 30 days last week.

In his remarks, the prime minister said, “What was proven last week is that the so-called negotiations were actually just a waste of time."

He suggested that patience in the Likud-led coalition was wearing thin after an opposition representative was elected to serve on the judge selection committee in an anonymous vote last week.

Netanyahu said, "A large majority of the public today understands that changes need to be made to the judicial system, so we will gather this week and begin the practical steps, we will do them in a measured, responsible manner, in accordance with the mandate we received."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded in a tweet, writing, "If Netanyahu goes ahead with the coup d'état unilaterally as he has stated, he will find that he is the prime minister of less than half of the Israeli people, with less than half of the economy, less than half of the security and less than half of the Knesset."

Leaders of the groups protesting against judicial reform for the past six months warned they will ratchet up their street activities again, announcing in a statement,  "Netanyahu's threats against the judicial system will be met with an appropriate Zionist response: Protests and disruptions that will lead to the failure of every attempt to damage the judicial system and Israeli democracy."

One Tel Aviv anti-reform protester, Arik Ring, claimed, "They (the Netanyahu coalition) are able to pass these laws whenever they want to. They have the majority in the parliament, and we are here to make sure those laws remain in the trash bin of history."

The new threats come after one of the leftist leaders of the anti-judicial reform protests, Brig. Gen. Nehemiah Dagan (Ret.), published a call on Facebook earlier this month – later deleted – for civil war and for the destruction of an Israeli think tank that contributed to the government's judicial reform proposals. Conservative columnist Caroline Glick published some of his posts on June 11th.

Matan Peleg, the. C.E.O. of the pro-Zionist group, Im Tirtzu, supported Netanyahu's decision to move ahead with reforms, saying, "We welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu's announcement regarding the advancement of the judicial reforms. There is no precedent in the world for the reality in Israel: a minority controlling the majority through blackmail with threats."

Peleg added, "The national camp acted with generosity and statesmanship, allowing the talks to take place, and yet the anarchists and the opposition refuse to move forward."

Alex Traiman, news director for the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), told CBN News, "Without the threat of pushing forward legislation, I'm not sure we can get back to the negotiating table at all."

Traiman cautions that the opposition is pushing Netanyahu toward a risky course. "We could see protests in the streets again if the opposition succeeds in rallying the public," he said.

Traiman contends that the first two judicial reforms Netanyahu wants to make are not so dramatic.

"Right now, the Supreme Court can overturn a law based on what it calls 'reasonableness,' so the Knesset wants to legislate to limit that ability. And also, they want to change the legal status of the opinions issued by the legal advisors of various ministries. Right now, the court rules those legal opinions to be legally binding on the government, he explained."

While the coalition has the votes to advance legislation to limit the Supreme Court, the court still has the power to overturn legislation.

Traiman noted, "You have a government which is exclusively right-wing. The right wing wants to advance laws that will change the nature of the country along the lines of its political policies; and the left – an activist left-leaning Supreme Court – is actually there to overturn the policies of the right wing."

In his Sunday Cabinet remarks, Netanyahu also restated the importance of blocking Iran's nuclear program and indicated Israel's opposition to the much-discussed nuclear "mini-deal" reportedly being brokered between the U.S. and Tehran.

Traiman contends that, as important as judicial reform is, it is not Netanyahu's top priority.

"It takes a distant fourth, I would say, to the issue of a nuclear Iran, to the issue of expanding the circle of peace with the Abraham Accords, particularly with countries like Saudi Arabia, and curbing the rapidly increasing cost of living here in Israel," Traiman said.

He believes Netanyahu will be cautious about the reforms, but admits that in Israel, it's hard to predict the future, adding, "We've been in a political circus here for a period of several years with the consecutive elections, and now the judicial reform protests."

**Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news.**