Israeli president calls for talks on court overhaul

JERUSALEM — Israel’s president Tuesday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to seek dialogue and compromise after it pushed ahead with a contentious judicial overhaul in a turbulent parliamentary session overnight.

Isaac Herzog said it was a “difficult morning” after the late-night parliamentary vote that saw two divisive pieces of legislation pass a preliminary hurdle.

The legislation is part of sweeping changes proposed by the government that have prompted vocal criticism in Israel and abroad, drawn tens of thousands of protesters to the streets and spooked investors and financial markets.

On Tuesday, the dollar gained over 2% against the shekel, continuing a monthlong slide that has seen the Israeli currency lose over 5% of its value against the dollar. Several Israeli companies have said they are withdrawing money from the country, while Israeli newspapers have reported even larger withdrawals of cash as investors have grown jittery about the business climate.

Critics say the judicial overhaul underway will concentrate power in the hands of the ruling coalition in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, and erode the democratic system of checks and balances.

Netanyahu and his allies insist the changes will better curb an overly powerful Supreme Court.

“Many citizens across Israeli society, many people who voted for the coalition, are fearful for national unity,” Herzog said at a conference organized by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

Herzog urged Netanyahu and his allies to enable dialogue to reach a consensus on judiciary reform.

“Let’s talk — here and now, without preconditions or excuses — so together we can achieve a broad agreement for the good of all citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu said late Tuesday.

Netanyahu’s critics have called on Netanyahu to freeze the legislation and start negotiations.

“Citizens of Israel, I have no pleasant way to say this: Prime Minister Netanyahu is lying,” opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a statement. “We have been trying to hold talks with them for many weeks.”

Herzog’s remarks came the morning after tens of thousands of Israelis protested outside the parliament ahead of the vote, the second mass demonstration in Jerusalem in recent weeks.

Israeli Palestinians have mostly stayed on the sidelines due to discrimination they face at home and Israel’s ongoing 55-year occupation of their Palestinian brethren in the West Bank.

After more than seven hours of debate that dragged on after midnight, Netanyahu and his allies passed two clauses in the package of proposed changes that seek to weaken the country’s Supreme Court and further empower ruling parliamentary coalitions.

With a 63-47 vote, the Knesset approved measures that give the governing coalition control over judicial appointments and curtail the Supreme Court’s ability to review the legality of major legislation known as “Basic Laws.” The bills still require two additional readings in parliament to pass into law.

Also planned are proposals that would give the parliament the power to overturn Supreme Court rulings and control the appointment of government legal advisers. The advisers currently are professional civil servants and critics say the new system would politicize government ministries.