Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Thursday evening to "end the division among the people" after weeks of popular protests against his government's plan to reform the judiciary. Benjamin Netanyahu, who had so far held back on the issue, announced that he was "coming on stage" and that he was determined to push forward the reform, but that he would do everything to "reach a solution" acceptable both to the project's defenders and its detractors.
"We cannot allow a dispute, no matter how acute, to jeopardize our common future... Opponents of reform are not traitors, supporters are not fascists," said he declared, referring to the favorite invectives of each of the two camps against the other. "I will do everything, everything, in order to calm the spirits and end the division among the people," he said again.
He himself had repeatedly called the protesters in recent weeks supporters of "anarchy". The reform aims to increase the power of elected officials over that of magistrates. According to its detractors, it jeopardizes the democratic character of the State of Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies believe the reform is necessary to restore a balanced balance of power between elected officials and the Supreme Court, which they consider politicized.
