Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid on Sunday commented for the first time on the compromise proposal regarding the judicial reform which was put forward by the government last week.
"Until now, I have not commented on the compromise outline that was presented last week, and not by chance. Already a month ago I told the President's team, and also my friends in the opposition: 'I warn you in advance, that a few days before the Supreme Court discussions and before Netanyahu's trip to the US, a compromise proposal that looks too good to be true will suddenly appear,'" Lapid said in comments at the annual social justice conference of the Centers for Social Justice.
"This is a proposal that is indeed not real. Its goal will not be to reach agreements, but to arrange for Netanyahu a meeting at the White House, and above all to create difficulties for the judges of the Supreme Court while they discuss the petitions. Last week's farce proved that it would have been good to heed this warning.At the same time, we should continue to make every effort to prevent the rift in the people of Israel.Unlike the Prime Minister and his ministers, we have a national responsibility for the fate of this country," he added.
"What we need to do is what I proposed immediately after the vote on the law limiting the use of the cause of reasonableness: After the discussions at the Supreme Court we should go for an 18-month moratorium on the legislation of the coup d'état. Such a freeze would need to be anchored in law.I presented the President with a bill drafted by Prof. Suzie Navot, which stipulates that any change concerning the democratic foundations of the regime in Israel can only be made with the broad agreement of the coalition and the opposition.At the time, the coalition rejected the idea outright, but a proposal for an 18-month freeze has now also appeared in the compromise outline that was published, so apparently there are already some in the government who understand that this is the right thing to do.A year and a half of quiet is what this country and its citizens need like air to breathe.This is enough time to reach broad agreements, this is also the time we need for the restoration and healing of the economy, of the people's army, of Israeli society."
"I once again propose that, after the discussions at the Supreme Court, the Knesset will vote to freeze the legislation for 18 months, and then we can go and hold a real and in-depth discussion to try to prevent the terrible rift in the Israeli people," concluded the leader of the opposition.