Calls for government to pause proposed judicial overhaul
Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warns ‘the source of our strength is eroding’.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday called for the government to halt its judicial overhaul legislation to allow for reform talks, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the government would pass a key part of the proposed shakeup next week.
“The legislative process should be halted” for several weeks, Gallant said, a stance that received public support from two other Likud politicians and the reported backing of a third, while others in the party castigated him and Otzma Yehudit coalition party leader Itamar Ben Gvir demanded that he be fired.
“The security of the State of Israel is my life’s mission,” said Gallant, a retired general who was once a nominee to be the military’s chief of staff. “Clothed in the IDF’s uniform, I have risked my life dozens of times for the State of Israel, and at this time, for the sake of our country, I am willing to take any risk and pay any price.”
The defence minister stressed Israel was facing “great threats — both near and far,” citing Iran’s nuclear program, Palestinian attacks and recent tensions with the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. “More than ever, we face unprecedented security challenges,” he said.
Gallant, who touted the military as “a source of pride” for service members and the nation as a whole, said that in recent weeks he has been speaking to military officers and the rank-and-file regarding the overhaul plans.
“I hear their voices, and I am worried. The events taking place and the issues in Israeli society do not skip the Israel Defense Forces.
Unprecedented feelings of anger, pain and disappointment have risen from all over,” he said.
“I see the source of our strength eroding,” Gallant warned. “The growing rift in our society is penetrating the IDF and security agencies. This poses a clear, immediate, and tangible threat to the security of the state. I will not lend my hand to this.”
Declaring himself a right-winger, Gallant noted his membership in the ruling Likud party, whose commitments he said included putting the country first. He then went on to stress his support for enacting changes to the judicial system, correcting “the balance” between the political echelon and the judiciary to “strengthen democracy.”
“Yet significant national changes are achieved through dialogue,” he said.
“We must not harm our unity. There must be no doubt in the hearts of the mothers, who will be sending their sons and daughters to serve in the IDF,” Gallant continued. “The victory of a single side, whether it be in the halls of the Knesset or on the streets of our cities, will lead to a loss for the State of Israel.”
The defense minister called for holding “a unifying national process with broad participation, a process that will strengthen the State of Israel and preserve the strength of the IDF.”
Gallant added that he said privately in recent days that talks must be held due to the security situation, and that the overhaul legislative “process must be halted,” but was now coming out publicly.
“For the sake of Israel’s security, for the sake of our sons and daughters, the legislative process should be stopped now, to enable the nation of Israel to celebrate Passover and Independence Day together, and to mourn together on Memorial Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day,” he said.
He also called for a halt to the protests — such as the mass demonstrations Saturday evening and rally held earlier in the day outside his home — and said “any refusal to serve in our military should be stopped immediately, as it erodes the power of the IDF and harms our defense establishment,” amid growing warnings from reservists they may cease serving if the overhaul passes.
Gallant’s call to halt the legislation was backed by several Likud lawmakers.
MK Yuli Edelstein, who chairs the Knesset’s powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, thanked Gallant for “joining the path I’ve been leading for weeks.”
“The majority of the people want and understand the need for changes in the judicial system, but this must be done with patience, dialogue, and broad discourse in order to reach a broad consensus,” he said in a statement.
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