‘Real, deep hatred’: Presenting his framework for reform, Herzog warns we are on brink of ‘civil war’

Presenting his alternative framework for judicial overhaul, President Isaac Herzog says the conflict over the issue has brought Israel to the brink of civil war.

Herzog says he was shocked by what he heard from Israelis in recent weeks.

“Those who think that a civil war is something that we could not reach, have no idea,” says Herzog, who says he has spoken to thousands of Israelis on both sides.

“I want to tell you something from the heart, and I very much hope that it will also penetrate your hearts.

“In my life, in the worst nightmares, I never thought I would hear such words, even if it is from a very small minority of people. I heard startling rhetoric. I heard real, deep hatred. I heard people — from all the parties that the idea of blood in the streets no longer shocks them,” he says.