JERUSALEM POST
Netanyahu: New reasonableness bill will only strengthen Israel’s democracy
Eliav Breuer
July 20, 2023

Efforts are being made to reach a compromise on changing the wording of the controversial reasonableness standard bill, but even as it stands, the bill will strengthen democracy – and definitely not harm democracy, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a prime-time statement on Thursday evening. “Tonight, I wish to calm all of you: In any case, Israel will continue to be a democratic state, will continue to be a liberal state,” the prime minister said. The prime minister’s comments came as the intensity of protests continue to increase ahead of the bill’s expected passage on Monday afternoon, and as additional groups of IDF reservists continue to announce that they will no longer volunteer for service if the bill passes into law. READ MORE

ISRAEL HAYOM Former Shin Bet chief backs protest movement; new attack ad draws outrage Nadav Argaman, the former head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, voiced support on Thursday for military reservists refusing to serve in protest of the government’s planned judicial overhaul, drawing fierce criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies days before parliament was set to vote on a key piece of legislation.