Amid mass protests across the country, Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog on Monday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abandon plans to reform the judiciary, and the largest trade union, the Histadrut, went on strike.
Netanyahu, who faces criminal corruption charges, which he denies, has promised to protect civil rights but has not backed down from the mainstream of reforms.
President Yitzhak Herzog tweets that Israel’s security, economy and society are at risk, and to preserve the country’s unity, he calls on the government to ‘immediately stop the process’ of adopting the reform judicial.
In addition to the Histadrut union’s strike against a plan to reform the judiciary, the main doctors’ union joined the protests and flights from the main international airport, Ben Gurion, were suspended.
Monday’s events followed massive protests across the country in which tens of thousands of Israelis protested Netanyahu’s decision to sack the defense minister.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant expressed disagreement with the government’s judicial reform plans, which include giving the executive control over the appointment of Supreme Court justices and allowing the government to overrule court decisions by a simple majority vote.
Galant warned in a televised address on Saturday that disagreements over these issues are causing divisions within the armed forces and security agencies, posing a threat to the country’s security.
Recall that on Sunday the representative of the National Security Council Adrienne Watson expressed concern about the situation, believing that events in Israel show “the urgency of a compromise”.
Netanyahu was due to speak on television Monday morning to suspend plans, but the speech was delayed as Netanyahu met with coalition party leaders.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Reuters reported that Israeli embassies around the world had been ordered to join the strike. Israeli embassies are only supposed to provide emergency services.
