People hold a banner during a protest against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new right-wing coalition and its proposed judicial reforms to reduce powers of the Supreme Court in Tel Aviv, Israel February 11, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
JNS.org – The Anti-Defamation League announced that it joins Israeli President Isaac Herzog in trying to bring all parties to the debate over Israeli judicial reform together, calling on them to avoid “violent confrontations.”
“We implore all parties to exert responsible leadership and avoid incendiary rhetoric,” stated the 110-year-old New York-headquartered NGO. “Debate and dissent are essential elements of a healthy democracy; intimidation, incitement and threats are not.”
Jews should be unified amid rising global antisemitism, said the ADL, adding: “We urge all sides in Israel and the Diaspora to remain committed to reasonable compromise and constructive discourse.”
US President Joe Biden has weighed in directly on the proposed reforms, and critics have called them a threat to democracy. Others have said opposition to the reform program is not about democracy but rather meant to thwart it.
