State President Isaac Herzog made an address to the nation this evening following a "Day of Resistance" to the government’s overhaul of Israel’s judicial system in which roads were blocked at various points around the country.
"I can no longer see our people being torn apart before our eyes. What is happening here is a disaster," Herzog began. "Citizens of Israel, I work for you, and only for your sakes. I see the sights and hear the cries directed at me with one message - do everything to make it stop. Do everything to find a solution.
"Let it be clear," the president continued, "I will not give up. I will pay any price to find a solution, on condition that it happens now. For we do not have time. For ten weeks now I have been working around the clock. I have been meeting everyone, even those who don’t agree with me, even those who won’t admit to doing so. I have been recruiting everyone, even those afraid of taking responsibility. All in order to preserve Israeli society, all in order to preserve Israeli democracy."
"When there’s a president’s plan, you’ll here about it from me"
"Don’t believe anyone who talks in my name," Herzog said. "When there’s a president’s plan, you’ll hear it in my voice, and my voice only. I can say the following here and now: I have succeeded in bring about a situation in which the gaps have very much narrowed. There are understandings on most of the issues. True, not on everything, but the vast majority. Certainly enough to abandon the currently proposed legislation and instead to bring a different, agreed plan before the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee for discussion.
"There is a basis here for rapid agreement in which the only winners will be the State of Israel and its citizens. The entire legislation currently under discussion in the committee needs to go, and fast. It’s wrong, it’s destructive, it undermines the our democratic foundations. It must therefore be substituted by a different plan, one that is agreed, and at once.
"Our democracy is a supreme value. An independent, strong legal system is a supreme value. Safeguarding human rights, of men and women alike, particularly of minorities, and the unique and rich Israeli mosaic, is a supreme value. And yes, diversity in the legal system so that it will be a home for all citizens is a supreme value. And healthy, stable and clear relationships between the branches of government - that too is a supreme value. This is a possible formula, it’s a formula within our grasp. Over a small gap, even if it’s material, you don’t destroy the house. To realize this formula we must have a politics that puts the citizens above everything else, that listens to them and respects them. A politics that remembers that those elected by the people are representatives, servants of the public, and not their own masters."
"We’re at a point of no return"
"To the leaders of the country, the coalition and the government that heads it, I say: We’re at a point of no return. This is the moment to be or not to be, to choose agreement and grasp a formative constitutional moment so that it will make us grow and build us up for years and generations ahead, or to slide into a constitutional, security, social and economic abyss. You must decide, the coalition and the opposition alike, whether the State of Israel and its citizens are above everything, or whether ego and narrow political interests will kick us over the cliff edge. If you want me to help you, I’m prepared to help you, but the responsibility is on you, on all the parties in the house.
"There’s a single choice: either a solution, or a catastrophe. If you choose to continue the way you have been going so far, the chaos is on your hands. History will judge you. Take responsibility, and immediately," Herzog pleaded.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on an official visit to Rome, said, "I welcome the state president’s initiative to reach the broadest possible agreement."
Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid said in response, "The president’s speech said sharply and clearly what a whole country knows: the government’s destructive and anti-democratic plan must go. The legislation must be halted immediately, and we must go to the President’s Residence for deep, serious dialogue by agreement, that will lead to the mending and improvement of the legal system and the separation of powers."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 9, 2023.
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