"This is a fateful hour when we all must build our solidarity for the future of our children,” said Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David said last night, on the eve of the first Knesset reading of the proposed judicial reform.
Bar-David, who met with President Itzhak (Bougie) Herzog on Sunday evening, called on the citizens of Israel to unite behind the president's statement calling for negotiations on the details of the sweeping judicial reforms. The reforms seek to significantly limit the independence and power of Israel’s Supreme Court via a number of measures, including granting the Knesset an ability to override court rulings and giving the coalition a majority on the judicial selection committee.
Israel has seen a stormy debate on the merits and drawbacks of the proposed bill. Tens of thousands are expected to protest the measure outside the Knesset today, during the bill’s first reading.
"The story of our lives in a country that we wished for two thousand years was written with toil, pain and determination, but most of all, it was made possible thanks to our unity as a society,” he said. “There are no winners or losers here. Let's stop before the political divide breaks Israeli society apart.”
"I met tonight with President Herzog, I placed myself and the Histadrut at the disposal of the Honorable President and we agreed on cooperation to handle the crisis," Bar-David said, concluding: "I will do everything in my power to bring about dialogue between the parties for the sake of the integrity of his state and Israeli society. We have no other homeland."
President Herzog proposed an outline for negotiations regarding the reform, warning of a "constitutional and social collapse.” His outline called for the implementation of five principles: the establishment of a Basic Law of legislation that would regulate the relationship between the legality and the manner of invalidating laws, increasing the number of judges to reduce the burden on the courts, changing the composition of judicial selection committee, streamlining legal procedures, and reducing by agreement the use of the “reasonableness clause” that judges can use to justify rulings.
Dialogue and mediation
Additionally, Bar-David addressed the hundreds of thousands of Histadrut members in a letter in which he clarified that he is working to mediate between the government and the opposition factions regarding the coalition’s proposed judicial reforms.
"The events of the past few weeks have kept me awake at night as a citizen and as chairman of the Histadrut," Bar-David wrote.
Bar-David made it clear that he was working on several fronts with the aim of promoting negotiations that would allow for a resolution to be reached to this conflict and heal the deep divisions within the nation.
"I am an optimistic person who does not despair, but this time I am worried," he wrote. "I hear all the voices. I am conducting conversations and meetings with all parties, and above all, I see and hear the working person. The common man. The citizens. The rift that is arising from the Knesset of Israel is dismantling our lives’ work. Our country, our shared home, is on the verge of a deep division."
Bar-David called on the parties to "calm the rhetoric and create a real dialogue," noting that he is working with both President Isaac Herzog and Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has proposed the judicial reform bill.
"I am working and will continue to work with all my strength and the power of the Histadrut to create dialogue and true mediation between the parties. I will not be dragged into a situation where I will endanger the unity that I lead as the chairman of the home of the workers in Israel, and I will not get into a political debate that splits the country," he clarified, adding that he always strove to resolve disputes through dialogue.
"I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. Israel is a state governed by the rule of law and only the chairman of the Histadrut has the authority to shut down the economy," he clarified, adding: "I will use the power of the Histadrut against any attempt to harm workers' rights, and at the right time."
This article was translated from Hebrew by Lily Sieradzki and Benji Sharp.
