Herzog calls for respectful dialogue on new Levin-Sa’ar judicial overhaul plan

In his first public comments on the new judicial overhaul framework put forth by Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar last week, President Isaac Herzog says that dialogue is needed to reach a consensus agreement and avoid further divisions.

“I believe that the proposal deserves a thorough and respectful discussion, which will include listening and certainly constructive criticism,” Herzog says in a statement, reiterating his call to “urgently enter into comprehensive discourse, dialogue and original and creative thinking,” in order to “stop the terrible rift in our people.”

Herzog made the comments after meeting with former minister Izhar Shay and former IDF general Dedy Simhi — whose sons Yaron Shay and Guy Simhi were both killed on October 7 — who worked on the compromise deal alongside Levin and Sa’ar.

The president says he has carefully read the new outline as well as arguments on either side and believes Israel “must find the golden path that will lead us out of this crisis… the Supreme Court is a critical institution in the State of Israel and in our democratic fabric. Preserving it and its independence is a requirement imposed on all of us.”

During the height of the judicial overhaul disagreements in early 2023, Herzog hosted a series of discussions at his residence between coalition and opposition figures aiming to reach a compromise and even put forth his own outline deal, which got little traction.