Ladies and gentlemen, there is no point in waiting.
Some two months have passed since the Coalition introduced the judicial overhaul; the public discourse has run its course. Tempers flared and people have honed their views on the issues at hand; the divisions have intensified and the dangers have been laid bare, along with the merits of the plan.
Its damage and its potential advantages are clear and compromises have been drafted. Enough – it's now time to restore the sanity Israelis deserve. True, the proposals have gone too far but it is also true that the resistance to them is not as authentic as it seems. And while it is imperative to check the judiciary, it is also true that the balance of power should not result in one branch of government taking over another one.
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An overwhelming majority of Israelis agree on these principles, as do most of the politicians on both sides. Our leaders also know what compromises would entail. All that is needed is a decision to adopt them.
Israelis' collective soul has been torn over this. If there is still one thing that enjoys national consensus today it's the desire to end this clash between the two camps. The silent, moderate, and mature majority knows that we have reached a point we are talking past each other. Each side is now just looking for more ways to fuel the fire; a fight just for the sake of fighting.
The alternative to a compromise is very bad. If there is no reform, the government will fall, and Israelis will go to the polls for the sixth time in 4 years. This is not something we want. If the government doesn't take out the problematic language in the bills, it would be just a matter of time before Israel's state institutions start to disintegrate. The leaders of the protest movement are just biding for time, hoping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman make more mistakes. Elections or anarchy, it doesn't matter to them, that is what the leaders of the protests are angling for. Thus, it would be wise to deny them this pleasure by pre-empting things.
In about a month we will mark Holocaust Day and Memorial Day, and then celebrate Israel's 75th anniversary. The thought of this situation not being resolved by then makes the hair stand on the back of my neck, considering just how combustible that period could become.
Do we really need to reach a situation where Holocaust survivors start shouting "You are Hitler" at Netanyahu in ceremonies? Do we really want Israeli Air Force pilots to refuse to take part in the celebratory flypast on Independence Day? Do we want the various events and speeches on those days to be marred by protest signs reading "Dictator!"
The answer is no; this is not how the Jewish people want to mark three-quarters of a century of being independent in the Land of Israel.
The prime minister and the senior officials in the Coalition know what they have to do in order to stop this madness. President Isaac Herzog knows this too. If the political leaders don't change course, then he must act swiftly by placing a reasonable compromise on the table that would finally put an end to the destruction of our public life. Who knows, perhaps even a miracle will happen and the Opposition will produce a responsible leader that will adopt it.
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