President Isaac Herzog is continuing his efforts to reach a compromise regarding the judicial reform, and on Tuesday evening he met with the chairman of the Knesset Constitution Committee MK Simcha Rothman, the leader of the opposition Yair Lapid, and the chairman of the National Unity Party, Benny Gantz.
In all the meetings the President repeated his call for negotiations and reaching as broad agreements as possible for the benefit of the State of Israel and its citizens.
Rothman said after the meeting, "I thank the President for his mediation efforts and am moved by his willingness to work night and day in order to reach a broad agreement on the reform of the judicial system. As I said yesterday and as I announced together with Minister Levin this week, I once again call on Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid to come as soon as possible to negotiations without preconditions, until the first reading, in an attempt to reach a broad agreement."
Gantz commented on his meeting with the President and said, "I met with the President this evening as part of a series of talks we are holding on the subject of the regime revolution. His concern over the growing rift in the nation and the strength of Israeli democracy is evident, and his action is extremely important at this time. I presented the President with our central principles regarding the required reform."
"At the core of the demands - stopping the legislation, not politicizing the judicial system and promoting a comprehensive course that includes a Basic Law: Legislation, and regulating the balance between the authorities. I hope that there will be a response to his initiative, and that Netanyahu will act responsibly and prevent an internal rift in the nation at a time of security and political challenges. He should place the State of Israel ahead of himself," added Gantz.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said, "I met with President Isaac Herzog this evening, I appreciate his efforts and concern for the State of Israel. We talked about the President's outline and his principles and the importance of reaching broad agreements and preventing a rift in the nation. I presented to the President the basic lines on which we will not compromise, first and foremost stopping the entire legislative process."
"I came to the President to sound the voice of hundreds of thousands of people who love the country, who are taking to the streets worried and anxious for the future of the State of Israel," Lapid said.
Earlier on Tuesday, MK Rothman spoke to reporters and said he is prepared to make substantial compromises on the government's planned judicial reforms, depending on the actions of the opposition.
"The more MKs from the opposition give active support to the reform, the more compromises can be made," he said.
He stated that "the core of the reform is that the people choose the judges."
MK Rothman said that his approach to reforming Israel's judicial system differs from that of Justice Minister Yariv Levin in a number of ways.