‘Blunder of historic proportions’ – Herzog urges judicial reform compromise but are his facts correct?

The president said that the birth of the modern State of Israel was possible largely because the early Zionists would “bridge gaps” and come to “consensual agreements,” but history shows otherwise.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

President Isaac Herzog encouraged the coalition and opposition parties to resume long-stalled negotiations on judicial reform during a speech on Sunday, saying that failure to come to an agreement would signify a “blunder of historic proportions.”

Herzog’s remarks came after anti-judicial reform activist groups threatened to “shut down the country” and launch a series of “unprecedented protest actions” that would cripple the functioning of the state. The major disruptions are planned for Tuesday, should the Knesset advance a bill aimed at ending the “reasonability” clause often cited by the Supreme Court to overturn legislation and government decisions.

“I can tell you agreements are possible — in general, and certainly on the specific issue of the ‘reasonableness clause,’” Herzog said during a memorial ceremony for Theodore Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, in Jerusalem.

He called on lawmakers to “put their egos aside” and “cease the terrible divisions. The people expect you to come to your senses, and quickly.”

Notably, Herzog, who in 2015 ran for the premiership as head of the left-wing Labor party and lost to Prime Minister Netanyahu, claimed that the birth of the modern State of Israel could be linked back to the early Zionists’ ability to “bridge gaps” and come to “consensual agreements.” He urged politicians on both sides to follow their example.

However, Herzog’s reference did not include bloody conflicts between various Zionist groups during the nascent days of the state, including the shelling of the Altalena ship under orders of Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion (Labor), because the weapons being transported to Israel were coming from a rival group.

At least 16 troops under then-Irgun leader Menachem Begin (founder of Likud), including Holocaust survivors, were killed in the Altalena affair, along with three IDF soldiers. More than 200 were arrested.

Later in his speech, Herzog referenced the current Bein Hametzarim, an annual three-week-long mourning period observed by religious Jews marking the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the divisions within the Jewish people that contributed to the disaster.

“We all know the historical examples from the ‘Three Weeks,’ but this is not history – this is our here and now, and it speaks for itself. This shocking and dangerous reality is happening before our eyes,” he said.