After President Isaac Herzog presented his plan to reach a compromise in the debate over the judicial reform, the Coalition – Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and head of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Simcha Rothman, in particular – made it clear that while they were open to mediation, they would not allow for the matter to be dragged on purposefully in order to freeze the legislation completely.
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They said that there is a wide enough window of time between the bills' first and second and third readings to allow for proper negotiations.
Herzog suggested the legislation be paused for the duration of the talks only, but Opposition Leader Yair Lapid demanded two months, including the immediate freeze of the bills even before the first reading (which by now has already been approved). He also clarified that the opposition and the demonstrations against the reform would not cease.
What is the real purpose of the opposition to the judicial reform, I wondered as I watched the new Israeli government get attacked mercilessly on Tuesday. After all, it is practically begging for talks, a proposal that the Left has rejected with contempt.
Last week Wednesday, the Coalition even withheld the bills that were brought before the justice committee for a preliminary reading, signaling the seriousness of their intention to negotiate. But the protests only exacerbated and the theft of a tank was celebrated.
On top of that, it was also reported this week that some attendees are being paid by Israeli business people to demonstrate against the judicial reform. The revelation that the protests are being funded by people who do not fancy Netanyahu, to say the least, shows that the real goal of the opposition is to remove the prime minister from power again. A compromise, heaven forbid, would heal the divide, calm the chaos, and allow the newly-elected government to function.
Leftists who previously proposed judicial reforms, including Lapid himself, are now rejecting it outright. Since the Netanyahu government was voted into power and assembled a majority coalition, it has been the target of a violent campaign of delegitimization.
Now don't get me wrong, the Coalition is not perfect – Rothman, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and National Missions Minister Orit Strook perhaps all need to do some soul-searching – but it seems that no matter how much good the new government does, it will be denounced no matter what.
The Coalition was not given a single moment of grace. Do not be fooled: there is no fight here to try to "save democracy," but rather an attempt to change the outcome of the election. And Lapid's request to freeze the judicial reform was only meant to give him time to reposition himself as the leader of the Left. The longer the demonstrations drag on, the better for him.
What stood out to me in the demonstrations was the notion that unless you look and think like us, you are not part of us, especially when I saw the group of demonstrators dressed up in red capes from The Maiden's Tale.
It reminded me of when I waged a battle alone as a religious woman in the public sphere. I fought for my right to participate while remaining faithful to my religion when many of those same red capes did not think I deserved it.
They claimed I was part of an oppressed culture, that I didn't really understand, that I was not able to think for myself and that I was a victim of the patriarchy. I wanted to join the march, but it contained only one color. An impregnable concrete. Whoever wears a black cape is unwelcome and considered backward.
Remember what Lapid said at the opening ceremony of the Eleventh Annual Conference of the Israel Bar Association? "There is room for reform in the judicial system, but not when that band does them."
To paraphrase, while there is nothing inherently wrong with introducing reform to the judicial system, the Opposition will oppose it solely because it is being initiated by a government led by Netanyahu.
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