Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardball political instincts may dictate he does otherwise, but Israel will be the loser if he fails to heed President Isaac Herzog’s warning that the Jewish state is on “the brink of constitutional and social collapse” over the Prime Minister’s proposals for far-reaching judicial reform. Mr Herzog, son of former president Chaim Herzog, is a lawyer not given to hyperbole. His position places him above the daily political battle. But even he has felt obliged to speak out about changes critics believe will undermine Israel’s judicial independence and threaten its democracy.
As 70,000 protesters swirled around the Knesset last Sunday, Mr Herzog issued an unusually blunt statement pleading for compromise. He reflected deep concern about polarisation caused by the reforms. “I feel – we all feel – that we are but a moment before a clash, even a violent clash. This powder keg is about to explode,” he said. Mr Herzog pleaded for dialogue “because there is a huge majority of the people who would like dialogue”.
Unsurprisingly, Mr Netanyahu dismissed the criticism and street protests. They were, he insisted, symptomatic of his opponents’ refusal to accept last November’s election result in which his far-right coalition won what is, by the Jewish state’s standards, a large majority of eight seats in the Knesset. In his own interests, and those of Israel, Mr Netanyahu should think again.
Read the editorial in The Australian.