Israel president Isaac Herzog urges consensus after judicial changes pass

Israels president Isaac Herzog Tuesday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus coalition to seek dialogue and compromise after it pushed ahead with a controversial judicial overhaul in a turbulent parliamentary session overnightIsaac Herzog said it was a difficult morning following the latenight parliamentary vote that saw two contentious pieces of legislation part of sweeping changes that have prompted vocal criticism in Israel and abroad pass a preliminary hurdle Critics say the judicial overhaul underway will concentrate power in the hands of the ruling coalition in Israels parliament the Knesset and erode the democratic system of checks and balancesNetanyahu and his allies insist the changes will better curb an overly powerful Supreme Court Many citizens across Israeli society many people who voted for the coalition are fearful for national unity Herzog said at a conference organised by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper He urged Netanyahu and his allies to enable dialogue to reach a consensus on judiciary reformHerzogs remarks came the morning after tens of thousands of Israelis protested outside the parliament ahead of the vote the second mass demonstration in Jerusalem in recent weeksIsraeli Palestinians a minority that may have the most to lose by the overhaul have mostly stayed on the sidelines due to discrimination they face at home and Israels ongoing 55year occupation of their Palestinian brethren in the West BankAfter more than seven hours of debate that dragged on after midnight Netanyahu and his allies passed two clauses in the package of proposed changes that seek to weaken the countrys Supreme Court and further empower ruling parliamentary coalitionsWith a 6347 vote the Knesset approved measures that give the governing coalition control over judicial appointments and curtail the Supreme Courts ability to review Basic Laws that have a quasiconstitutional role in Israel which doesnt have a formal constitutionAlso read Israeli airstrikes kill five in Damascus Syrian state media reportThe bills still require two additional readings in parliament to pass into law Also planned are proposals that would give the parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court rulings and control the appointment of government legal advisers The advisers currently are professional civil servants and critics say the new system would politicise government ministriesThe United States has called for restraint and on Tuesday the United Nations human rights chief called on Israel to pause the proposed legislative changes and open them up for wider debate and reflectionldquoSuch issues at the heart of rule of law deserve the fullest consideration in order to ensure that any changes promote rather than diminish the ability of the judiciary mdash and other branches of Government mdash to protect the rights of all people in Israelrdquo Volker Tuumlrk the UNrsquos high commissioner for human rights said in a statementAccording to a survey by the Israel Democracy Institute think tank published Tuesday 6637 of respondents think the Supreme Court should have the authority to strike down laws incompatible with the Basic Laws and 6337 think the current system for picking judges mdash a panel made up of politicians judges and attorneys mdash should be maintainedAlmost threequarters of the 756 respondents iquest 7237 iquest said there should be compromise between the opposing political camps about proposed judicial changesHerzog who serves as the largely symbolic head of state has tried to broker dialogue between the increasingly polarised camps and has called on Netanyahu and his allies to delay the contentious judicial overhaulNetanyahus governing coalition is made up of ultranationalist and ultraOrthodox parties and took office in late December after the countrys fifth parliamentary elections in less than four years The political deadlock was largely over the longtime leaders fitness to serve as prime minister while on trial for fraud breach of trust and accepting bribes charges Netanyahu has deniedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever