Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the current legislation surrounding the reformation of the judicial system will be halted for the time being, however, senior members of the coalition are continuing to advocate for its importance to the State of Israel. The chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, Simcha Rothman, was interviewed on “Kan B” and stated that “it is possible that if I had given up at the beginning the legislation would have gone faster and I would have advanced it in first, second and third reading without reaching agreements”. Rothman also referred to the recent demonstrations in Israel as the beginning of a religious war.
He went on to mention that he was due to have a dialogue with the President of the State, Yitzhak Herzog, clarifying that the issue is political and divides those who put Israel first and those who do not. Despite hoping that negotiations will progress through Herzog’s mediation, he remains cautious, stating that “it takes two to tango”. Rothman also mentioned that if an agreement cannot be reached, he believes the best course of action is to allow negotiations to naturally conclude, rather than engage in unproductive protests.
When asked to comment on the misconception of a legislative blitz, Rothman maintained that he does not see it as his job to criticize other players in the system, but that everyone is doing their best to support the coalition.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the legislation within the framework of the reform of the judicial system will be stopped for the time being, but the senior members of the coalition continue to appear almost everywhere in order to echo how essential they claim it is to the State of Israel. The chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Simcha Rothman was interviewed this morning (Monday) on “Kan B” and said that “it is possible that if I had given up at the beginning the legislation would have gone faster and I would have advanced it in first, second and third reading without reaching agreements”.
MK Rothman to an American newspaper: “The demonstrations in Israel are the beginning of a religious war”
At the beginning of his remarks, Rothman said that today there is to be a dialogue with the President of the State Yitzhak Herzog. “They haven’t started diving into the contents yet, today there is supposed to be some kind of meeting. All along the way I spent hours trying to reach agreements. The issue has long been immaterial, it is political, of camps, of Israel the first and the second.”
After that we were asked if talking to the president was a good idea. To this he replied: “Stopping the legislation is not a good idea, beyond the issue of stopping I wanted negotiations. The president made a serious mistake in his conduct that turned him among an entire political camp into someone who can no longer be a fair mediator. We have all seen the reactions to that one-sided outline published by the president.”
On the chance of reaching agreements through Herzog’s mediation, he said: I hope, but I remain cautiously optimistic. It Takes Two to Tango. This is a negotiation between the opposition and the coalition, in my best dreams we are all marching with reform towards the sunset with unicorns flying in the air. But in our world there are those who, during negotiations, go to demonstrations and say that their goal is to overthrow the government in a clear way.”
Rothman also said that “Both I and Minister of Justice Yariv Levin have said all along that if it is possible to reach a reform of the justice system with a broad consensus, it is better. Everyone knows that as far as I am concerned, the government offers and the income comes from it.”
Regarding the schedule for the talks, the chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee said that “the schedule is in the hands of the Prime Minister who stopped the legislation. I think the opening of the summer conference will be the point where things will have to be examined. If it is decided to go to negotiations, I think the best thing The best thing is to let the negotiations exhaust themselves. There is nothing that destroys negotiations more than making posters and climbing trees. Any progress will have to be checked and in the end this is how negotiations are conducted.”
In response to the question of what he did not succeed in, Rothman replied: “I invested a lot of time both in the committee and outside of it to reach agreements – it could be that if I had given up at the beginning the legislation would have gone faster and I would have advanced it in first, second and third reading without reaching agreements.”
Finally, he said that “one of the lies circulating in the Israeli public is the concept of a legislative blitz. I don’t take responsibility, I don’t think my job is to be the auditor of the state. I don’t need to criticize the other players. I think we should start criticizing players from the coalition – everyone is doing their best.”