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After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the government would pass a significant part of the proposed shakeup next week, Defense Minister Yoav Galant on Saturday called on the government to pause its judicial overhaul law to allow reform talks.
“The legislative process should be halted” for several weeks, Gallant said, a stance that received public support from two other Likud politicians and reported support from a third, while others in the party criticized him and Otzma. The leader of the Yehudit coalition party, Itamar Ben Gvir, was incited to demand that he be fired.
“The security of the State of Israel is my life’s mission,” said Gallant, a retired general who was once nominated for chief of staff of the army. “Dressed in the uniform of the IDF, I have risked my life dozens of times for the State of Israel, and this time, for the sake of our country, I am ready to take any risk and pay any price.”
The defense minister stressed that Israel was facing “huge threats – both near and far”, citing Iran’s nuclear programme, Palestinian attacks and recent tensions with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. “More than ever, we face unprecedented security challenges,” he said.
Thousands of Israeli protesters rally against the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul bill in Tel Aviv on March 4. Photo: Ghilli Yaari/Flash90
Gallant, who described the military as a “source of pride” for service members and the nation, said in recent weeks he has been talking to military officers and rank-and-file about the overhaul plans.
“I hear their voices, and I am worried. Events are happening and issues in Israeli society do not leave the Israel Defense Forces.
Unprecedented feelings of anger, pain and despair have risen from all sides,” he said.
Gallant warned, “I see the source of our strength being destroyed.” “The growing rift in our society is penetrating the IDF and security agencies. It is a clear, immediate and tangible threat to the security of the State. I will not give my hand in this.
Declaring himself right-wing, Gallant cited his membership in the ruling Likud party, whose commitments he said include putting the country first. He then stressed his support for changes to the judicial system, correcting the “balance” between the political hierarchy and the judiciary in order to “strengthen democracy”.
“Yet important national changes are achieved through dialogue,” he said.
“We should not harm our unity. There should be no doubt in the hearts of mothers who will send their sons and daughters to serve in the IDF,” Gallant continued. “The victory of one side, whether it be in the halls of the Knesset or on the streets of our cities, will spell loss for the State of Israel.”
The Defense Minister called for conducting “an integrated national process with broad participation, a process that will strengthen the State of Israel and maintain the strength of the IDF”.
Gallant said that he had said privately in recent days that talks must take place due to the security situation, and that the overhaul legislative “process should be put on hold”, but was now coming out publicly.
“For the safety of Israel, for the sake of our sons and daughters, the legislative process must now be halted, so that the Nation of Israel can celebrate Passover and Independence Day together, and mourn together on Memorial Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day, ” They said.
He also called for a halt to protests – such as the mass demonstration on Saturday evening and the rally held earlier in the day outside his home – and said “refusing to serve in our military must stop immediately, as it destroys power.” harms the IDF and our defense establishment,” amid growing warnings from reservists they may cease to serve if the overhaul passes.
Gallant’s call to stop the legislation was supported by several Likud MPs.
MK Yuli Edelstein, who chairs the Knesset’s powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, thanked Gallant for “joining me down the path I have been leading for weeks.”
“Most people understand and want the need for change in the judicial system, but this must be done with patience, dialogue and broad dialogue to reach a broad consensus,” he said in a statement.
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