Business Leaders Warn Likud MKs of Economic Harm due to Judicial Overhaul

On Saturday night, there was a meeting between four lawmakers from the Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of a group of numerous industry leaders.

The purpose was to warn the lawmakers that they were already feeling the economic damage because of the drastic judicial overhaul plans of the government.

The meeting

Harel Wiesel, the owner of the Fox fashion group leads the group known as the Business Forum. The meeting had been held in Tel Aviv and the MKs in attendance were Shalom Danino, Eli Dellal, Hanoch Milwidsky and David Bitan.

Forum members who attended the meeting explained that as predicted by numerous experts, officials and critics of the judicial overhaul plans, the economic damage had already begun.

According to media reports, the group also shared their concerns about the increasing public divide due to the legislation.

The reports further added that the lawmakers had been attentive towards the concerns that were shared.

The coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which comprises of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist parties, has been moving forward at full speed with the judicial overhaul proposals.

The legislation is aimed at giving the government control over appointment of judges and weakening the Supreme Court.

According to the coalition, the measures are necessary because the unelected judges have what it believes is outsize influence.

The criticism

However, critics have said that the legislation will destroy the system of checks and balances because the power will then be shifted in the hands of the premier and his majority in parliament.

They have also claimed that it is also an attempt by the Prime Minister to escape justice because of his ongoing trial related to corruption.

The last two months have seen hundreds of thousands of Israelis taking to the streets for protesting the judicial overhaul.

Nobel-winning economists, business leaders as well as notable security officials have denounced the plans. Even military reservists are threatening to not show up for duty.

The demands

Even some of the closest allies of Israel, like the United States, have asked the premier to slow things down.

A compromise was also put forward by President Isaac Herzog, but it has also been turned down by the government.

On Sunday, the head of the Economic Affairs Committee of the Knesset, David Bitan, said that the prime minister should put a stop to the legislation.

He said that Netanyahu had not done so as yet because he does not wish for the government to fall and that he was seeking a compromise with the opposition.

He added that the key parts of the judicial overhaul plans that are slated for a vote this week should be stopped for a specific time period in order to have discussions.

He also criticized Yariv Levin, the Justice Minister who is spearheading the plans, for not talking about the matter and urged him to sit with everyone and not just leaders of the coalition.

According to Bitan, Likud lawmakers would support the plan, but they also want their own opinion to be considered.