The Israeli Labor Party's negotiating team has withdrawn from talks on judicial reform, notifying representatives of the President's House of this on Sunday.
The team appointed by the party included Knesset Members Efrat Rayten and Gilad Kariv, as well as former Minister of Justice Avi Nissenkorn, and jurist Dr. Tamar Hostovsky Brandes.
"We are learning about discussions that are taking place in the dark and even about agreements between the sides away from the public eye, without our involvement, which raises the concern that the negotiation process and even Israeli democracy will be harmed," the team wrote. "These statements are inconsistent with the clear positions we have demonstrated all along regarding the red lines that cannot be crossed and the principled positions that cannot be compromised."
Party representatives cited the announcement by credit rating agency Moody's, which warned of the slim chances of reaching a compromise. In addition, the representatives condemned the remarks made by MK David Amsalem, who called for the prosecution of past and current presidents of the Supreme Court, "as part of an unrestrained campaign of incitement against the judiciary in Israel, which they want to destroy to the core."
At the end of the letter, the party members pledged that they would continue to fight for Israeli democracy "in the Knesset, in the streets, in protests, in the media and in every other arena, together with the Israeli public. We will carefully monitor the negotiations, while insisting on the demand for transparency and standing firm on the red lines of Israeli democracy."
The President's House responded to the letter: "The President's House is open, and will continue to be open to anyone who wishes to be part of the dialogue in order to reach as broad an agreement as possible."
This article was translated from Hebrew by Benji Sharp.
