The Diplomat
Israel’s Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, yesterday asked the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, not to decide for the Israeli people after the president expressed his support on behalf of the Socialist International on Saturday for the protests against the controversial judicial reform in Israel, considered by its critics as an attack on the balance of powers, reports Europa Press.
“No foreign official will decide for the Israeli people, and I am sure that this was not Sánchez’s intention,” warned the head of Israeli diplomacy, who has just been in Spain, where he met with his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel Albares, on his Twitter account.
The minister was referring to the video broadcast before some 200,000 demonstrators at last night’s protest against the reform gathered in the streets of Tel Aviv, in which Sánchez, who is also president of the Socialist International, recalled that the latter “has always fought for freedom, equality, justice and democracy”, “values that we cannot take for granted and that we have to promote and defend on a daily basis”.
“As such, now, as always, socialist internationalists stand in solidarity with the people of Israel. Dear friends, you will always find ways to fight for democracy,” Sánchez said.
In response, Cohen defended his personal support for the reform proposal, as a member of the main party in Israel’s ruling Likud coalition, and attacked the protesters as having “no limits whatsoever, including attempts to damage our (Israel’s) international image”.
“As a supporter of reform, I have no doubt that it will strengthen democracy and balance the branches of government,” he concluded.
Judicial reform is currently stalled in the midst of a consensus process organised by Israeli Prime Minister and prime mover Benjamin Netanyahu, on the recommendation of Israel’s President Isaac Herzog.
Other international leaders, such as the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, have also expressed their concern about this proposal, which, in broad terms, would grant the government unprecedented powers over the actions of the country’s courts.
