Netanyahu Looks to Reign In Levin’s Sweeping Judicial Reform Legislation

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has increased pressure on Justice Minister Yariv Levin to seek a compromise on his legislation to radically reform Israel’s justice system, with the two meeting three times in recent days to discuss the matter, according to unconfirmed reports Tuesday.

An unsourced Channel 12 report said Netanyahu did not go into details of the judicial overhaul with Levin — as he is forbidden from dealing with it directly by a conflict of interest agreement — but that he warned the minister of the potential negative consequences of the current legislation on diplomacy, the economy, security and social cohesion, and said the plan must be softened. This despite Netanyahu selecting Levin as his justice minister knowing precisely the radical package of proposals Levin would present, and publicly backing him over the past two months amid escalating opposition protests and warnings from economists, bankers, the tech sector, jurists and security personnel about the dire consequence of the overhaul for Israel’s democracy, international status, and internal unity.