Israeli Opposition Threatens to ‘Shake the Country’ Over Judicial Reform

Israeli opposition figure Benny Gantz threatened Wednesday to “shake the country” if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempts to pass the judicial reforms his government was elected to pursue.

Gantz, who heads the Blue and White Party, made his threat in a tweet that apparently responded to an earlier statement by Netanyahu that he would turn his attention back to the issue of judicial reform now that his government had passed a budget.

According to the Times of Israel, Netanyahu’s statement consisted of an answer to questions from reporters, who asked whether he intended to return to the issue of judicial reform. He said, “Of course,” and added: “We are already within it, trying to reach understandings [with the opposition], and I hope we will succeed.”

Gantz, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said: “I understand that Netanyahu is drunk again on power, after the passage of a budget that will explode in all our faces. I remind Netanyahu that stupidity is repeating the same action and expecting different results. If the judicial coup returns to the table — we will shake the country and stop it.”

אני מבין שנתניהו שוב שיכור כוח, אחרי שהעביר תקציב שיתפוצץ לכולנו בפנים. אני מזכיר לנתניהו, שטיפשות היא לחזור על אותה פעולה ולצפות לתוצאות אחרות. אם ההפיכה המשטרית תחזור לשולחן – נרעיד את המדינה ונעצור אותה.

— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) May 24, 2023

That provocative statement came even as representatives of both the government and the opposition are negotiating toward a compromise on judicial reform.

The negotiations began after the opposition spent weeks organizing massive nationwide demonstrations, protesting against legislators at their homes, and even encouraging military reservists to desert in protest.

Netanyahu’s government has said that it hopes for a compromise but will pass judicial reforms as a single up-or-down vote if the opposition attempts to derail the process.

Israel’s official opposition leader, Yair Lapid — who was once a vocal critic of judicial activism — also condemned Netanyahu’s renewed commitment.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.