Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended an olive branch to the opposition after the passage of his first judicial reform law on Monday — but his critics rejected the overture, with some talking about “civil war.”
Netanyahu hailed the passage of the first and most moderate of his reform proposals, which will prevent the Supreme Court from using a vague “reasonableness” standard in overturning government laws and policies.
In a video address, Netanyahu — who had come out of the hospital earlier that day after having a pacemaker fitted to his heart — said that he was open to compromise on his other reforms, setting November as a deadline.
הצטרפו לשידור החי: דברי ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו בהצהרה לתקשורת, ממשרד ראש הממשלה בירושלים. https://t.co/WiTmGo6tqB
— ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb) July 24, 2023
Netanyahu said that he had already agreed to talks for three months before the passage of the first reform, but that the opposition had not agreed to a single proposal by the government that had been elected last year.
Instead, he said, the opposition had taken to the streets to shut down the country. But he said that “[w]e are prepared to negotiate on everything, and immediately … until the end of November. There’s enough time.”
He added that Israels had to agree that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) would remain apolitical. Opposition activists had urged reservists in the military to refuse to show up for duty in protest against judicial reform.
As the Jerusalem Post noted, Netanyahu’s opponents rejected his overture. Opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of “lies” and “empty theater,” and said justice minister Yariv Levin was really in charge.
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert, a vocal critic of Netanyahu, said that the country was entering “civil war”:
“We are going into a civil war now.”
Former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert says the country faces civil war as huge protests have flooded the streets in Israel over judicial overhaul. pic.twitter.com/WZ33aItKP7
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) July 24, 2023
He walked back his statement, saying “I mean, civil disobedience, with all the possible ramifications.”
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 recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.