Respect our democracy,' says Netanyahu amid discussion of judicial reform
After US Ambassador Nides urges Israel to 'pump the brakes' on judicial reform, Netanyahu rejects foreign intervention in Israeli affairs.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a veiled response Sunday to comments by US Ambassador Thomas Nides on the Israeli government’s judicial reform plan, emphasizing Israel’s sovereign right to reform its court system.
“In case you haven’t noticed, Israel is in the midst of a little debate on judicial reform,” Netanyahu said in Jerusalem at an event of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.
“I’d love to speak to you at length, and tell you that you shouldn’t worry. I’d just like to tell you three things.”
“First: Israel is a democracy and will remain a democracy, with majority rule and proper safeguards for civil liberties.”
“The second thing: All democracies should respect the will of other free peoples, just as we respect their democratic decisions.”
The comment appeared to be a response to Nides’ comments suggesting Israel should slow its efforts to reform the judicial system. Over the weekend, Ambassador Nides told CNN's The Axe Files podcast that the Israeli government should “pump the brakes” on its judicial reform plan. Netanyahu also reiterated comments by Nides at the same event, saying that Israel is not in danger of a civil war.
“The third is that there has been a lot of rhetoric that is frankly reckless and dangerous, including calls for bloodshed in the streets and calls for civil war.”
“It ain’t gonna happen, there’s not going to be a civil war.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/367699
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Et tu AG
Prime Minister Netanyahu's office commented on the opinion of the Attorney General that Netanyahu cannot involve himself in the President's proposed reforms. "Prime Minister Netanyahu did not wait for the Attorney General's letter to call for calm. He has been doing this in public statements for weeks and has not required confirmation from anyone. It is unthinkable that in a democratic country there are those who thought that the Prime Minister of Israel could be prevented from calling for unity and calming public discourse, or to silence the one who was just now democratically elected and represents millions of citizens," the Prime Minister's Office said.
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