The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, made this Monday (03.27.2023) an urgent appeal to the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to “act responsibly and courageously” and stop the controversial judicial reform that divides the country. “For the sake of the unity of the people of Israel, for the sake of the necessary accountability, I ask you to stop the legislative process immediately,” Herzog said in a statement amid the biggest protests in his history.
Netanyahu dismissed his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, last night, after he publicly called for stopping the judicial reform, the first critical voice within the Government, which unleashed massive and improvised demonstrations throughout the country, with the assistance of more than 600,000 people, which is expected to be repeated today. “Last night we witnessed very difficult scenes,” Herzog lamented in the statement released by his services.
General strike: “the State of Israel stops”
The leader of Israel’s big trade union center called an immediate strike. “I call a general strike,” Histadrut union president Arnon Bar-David said in a televised message adding that “from the moment this press conference ends, the State of Israel stands still.”.
The main universities in the country already declared an indefinite strike last night, while a group of 23 mayors intend to start a hunger strike today in protest of the reform, which has unleashed a broad social response from multiple sectors.
“The whole nation is deeply concerned. Our security, our economy and our society are threatened,” said President Herzog, who made a solemn appeal “to the prime minister, to members of the government and to those of the majority.” “All the people of Israel are looking at you. All the Jewish people are looking at you. The whole world is looking at you,” added Herzog, whose repeated calls for a compromise solution have gone unheeded and have not prevented the country from slowly slipping back. little towards a crisis.v