Likud minister, top Religious Zionism rabbi call to freeze legislation

Joining other coalition members urging the government to halt its judicial overhaul push, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli calls for a rethink in how the legislative package is sold to the public.

“You have to admit, honestly, we lost direction,” he says in a lengthy statement.

“I suggest we respond to Benny Gantz’s proposal, which seems to come from a pure and well-intentioned place, sketch out a new roadmap for resuming the legislative process, present it to the public and set the rules of the game ahead of time,” he adds.

Chikli is sure to temper his comments with full-throated backing for the essence of the overhaul while reiterating his fealty to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, a leading rabbi in the religious nationalist movement and a spiritual mentor to the Religious Zionism party signs a letter along with other prominent rabbis from the community urging a ceasefire in the fight over the judicial shakeup.

Noting the damage already caused to the nation by the brouhaha, the rabbis call on the government to halt legislative activity on the overhaul until after Independence Day next month, urging the opposition to curtail protests until then as well.