President Isaac Herzog is a “left-wing” person and is not a fair mediator in the judicial reform talks, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Kol Brama Radio on Tuesday, after Herzog issued a clarification that, contrary to claims by Smotrich and other members of the coalition, no agreements had been reached during talks at the President’s Residence.
“The president published his plan in the past one-sidedly, he is a left-wing person and unfortunately is unsuccessful in being a fair moderator,” Smotrich said.
The finance minister’s comments came after Herzog said on Monday, “It is important for me to stress that during the talks under my auspices, there were no obligatory drafts sent by the President’s Residence to either side and as such there were no full agreements on any issue. I recommend not to harm the fairness and integrity of the process.”
National Unity chairman MK Benny Gantz came to the president’s defense, writing on Twitter on Tuesday that the president was “spending night and day working to prevent the ruin of democracy, the schism in the people and the severe damage to Israel’s economy.”
“It would be good if the government ministers stop the severe damage to the citizens of Israel that they are inflicting in the judicial overhaul – instead of blaming the person who is doing everything to prevent it,” Gantz added.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is seen at a Religious Zionist Party faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on June 19, 2023. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)Otzma Yehudit MK Yizhak Kroyzer also came to the president’s defense.
“We trust that the president will act with fairness and integrity, President Herzog is a man of many accomplishments who cares about the state of Israel. The president is outside of political discourse. We trust that the president will act with integrity and good faith,” Kroyzer said.
Economic impact
Regarding the economy, Smotrich added on Army Radio on Tuesday that “there had not been damage to the economy, but rather small turbulence due to the opponents of the reform and the chaos. There were people who told lies to the whole world and said that Israel would cease to be a democracy, and called to stop investing,” the finance minister said.
President Herzog’s statement mentioned above contradicted claims by many members of the coalition, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the opposition had already agreed behind closed doors to a law that would limit the court’s use of the “reasonableness factor” when evaluating government decisions.
The coalition intends to begin the legislative process of the law on Wednesday in the Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee.
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