Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich strongly criticized President Isaac Herzog after the President released his proposal for a compromise on the judicial reform issue Wednesday night. "I have hope that there will soon be a message from the President's Residence that there was a glitch and that he sent out by mistake the position papers sent to him by [Supreme Court] President Hayut and the Israel Democracy Institute instead of the balanced outline that I know he wanted to promote in recent days," Smotrich said. He added, "If no such announcement is made, then the president has made a sharp turn to the left, succumbing to threats and rewarding violence." "I have great respect for the President of the State, but an outline which changes the election results, which perpetuates the undemocratic rule of the jurists and accepts all the concessions demanded by the opponents of the reform, cannot be a basis for compromise even if someone calls it by the phony name,' 'The People's Framework.' The people had their say in the last elections, and this must be the starting point of every discussion", said Smotrich. Related articles: House probes US funding to groups tied to Israel protests 'Race to the bottom' is breaking records for hilarity Opposition MKs appeal changes to Judicial Selection Committee Knesset passes bill to change composition of key committee National Missions Minister Orit Strock, of Smotrich's Religious Zionism party, stated that "the way the president has withdrawn from his positions leads to the sad conclusion that threats work. This is unacceptable."
