Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on opposition parties Tuesday to resume talks toward a deal on judicial reform, just a week before the Supreme Court will hear arguments against the first phase of that program.
Netanyahu issued his call specifically to National Unity party leader Benny Gantz, in a video message on Twitter:
בואו נדבר >> pic.twitter.com/iVPRmhL5Xo
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 5, 2023
The Times of Israel summarized Netanyahu’s remarks:
“I want to turn to Benny Gantz. We have a lot of disagreements but also a lot in common. We’re both called Benjamin. We both fought on the battlefield against a common enemy. And today most of the nation expects us to do something for a common goal. It wants us to reach agreements. But in order to reach agreements, one simple thing must be done: put aside all the prerequisites, all the obstacles, enter the room and talk,” Netanyahu says in a videotaped message.
“Therefore, I invite your team to sit down with our team tomorrow morning and do what most of the people of Israel expect: we will sit down and reach agreements,” he continues.
Netanyahu stressed face-to-face talks, after both sides rejected the framework of a new compromise proposed by Israel’s ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog — but without dismissing the idea of compromised altogether.
National Unity party leader Benny Gantz, one of the major opposition figures, cautiously indicated that he was open to talks, but attacked Netanyahu as leading a government of “extremists.”
Netanyahu’s judicial reforms are seen by his conservative base as necessary to restore the power of the legislature against a powerful, left-wing judiciary. Netanyahu’s opponents claim the reforms are an attack on democracy.
One of the reforms, which would prevent the courts from overturning laws on the basis of a judge’s opinion of their “reasonableness,” has already passed, and faces a challenge in the Supreme Court. Prime Minister Netanyahu has said the court does not have jurisdiction to hear a challenge to its own powers under the Basic Laws from which it derives its authority, but he is reportedly seeking a deal before meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Sep. 21.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.