In Israel, government postpones vote on judicial overhaul

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog held a series of meetings [on 14 February] at his residence with opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz as well as the head of the Israeli parliament's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Simcha Rothman. The goal of the meetings was to increase the pressure on the parties to push them to reach a compromise on the proposed judicial reform that sparked mass protests across Israel. As legislation moves through the Knesset and party leaders struggle to agree on where and when to hold the talks, Herzog reiterated his call for as broad agreements as possible to be reached for the benefit of the state of Israel and its citizens. In a sign of possible breakthrough, the coalition subsequently pushed back to an unknown later date planned plenum votes on certain key planks of the judicial overhaul. [...] Earlier on [14 February], Rothman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich presented on Facebook a compromise approach to reach agreements with the opposition. "We really want to establish a dialogue with the will to find agreements. We are ready to give up certain things," they said. Later, Rothman confirmed that he would accept compromises, while stressing that in return for his flexibility, he expected the opposition to support the bill in the next Knesset vote.
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