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“As close friends of Israel with shared democratic values, we are following this debate very closely, and I cannot hide the fact that we’re following it with great concern,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a news conference alongside Netanyahu in Berlin.
“The independence of the judiciary is a precious democratic asset. We agree on that.”
Of Herzog’s suggestion, Scholz said: “As friends of Israel, we would like the last word not to have to have been spoken on this proposal”.
The White House also praised Herzog’s effort to broker a compromise.
“The genius of our democracy – and frankly Israel’s democracy – is that they’re built on strong institutions, that they include checks and balances that foster an independent judiciary,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. He said Herzog’s efforts are “consistent with those same democratic principles.”
Protesters say the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to water down the Supreme Court.Credit:Getty
Police said they had arrested five people who had disguised themselves as workers to carry out the red line protest action at night.
Drone footage showed a small group of people in protective suits spraying a wide red stripe along mostly deserted roads leading from a police and magistrate’s compound up to the Supreme Court in central Jerusalem.
A slogan stencilled in red onto the road in Hebrew, Arabic and English by the side of the road read: “Drawing the line”.
The opposition sees the Israeli government’s proposal to reform the judiciary as an attempt to reduce its power in favour of the government.Credit:Getty
In what they dubbed “a day of resistance,” demonstrators also blocked roads around commercial hub Tel Aviv and in other cities. At the Haifa port a few flag-toting protesters on boats, including former navy men, tried to block docking lanes.
“We are here to protest our democracy, our country because we feel that our country is under brutal attack of the government, the Israeli government,” said choreographer Renana Raz in Tel Aviv.
His nationalist-religious coalition says the Supreme Court too often overreaches and intervenes in political matters it has no mandate to rule on. Defenders of the court say it is a bastion of democracy, protecting rights and liberties.
Economists, legal experts and former security chiefs have warned the plan, which has yet to be written into law, will wreak havoc on the economy and isolate Israel internationally.
Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges he denies, says it will strengthen democracy and boost business. Members of his coalition driving the changes hope to win parliament’s final approval of them by April 2.
Reuters, AP