Israeli former PM calls on world leaders to avoid Benjamin Netanyahu
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Salma Hossein
- . March 17, 2023
- . Update: March 18, 2023 1:03 pm
The former prime minister of Israel urged other world leaders to avoid Benjamin Netanyahu as he pushes ahead with his plan to overhaul the legal system on Thursday. Two of Israel’s closest allies, the US and Germany, advised Netanyahu to take it easy.
Tens of thousands of Israelis were once again protesting Netanyahu’s proposal in the streets when the unprecedented appeals for restraint and international intervention were made.
Ehud Olmert, a former Israeli prime minister who served in that capacity from 2006 to 2009, counseled other international leaders against scheduling meetings with Netanyahu. He made a direct appeal to Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister who would shortly host Benjamin Netanyahu.
Olmert requested that the leaders of the countries that have friendly relations with Israel skip meetings with the Israeli prime minister.
Read | Israeli friends of Netanyahu push on with law reform
As a former Israeli prime minister, he acknowledged that his call was “very extraordinary,” but he continued that it was necessary given the circumstances. Olmert stated, “I believe the current Israeli government is purely anti-Israeli.”
He targeted the ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist groups that make up Netanyahu’s far-right government, which opposes Palestinian independence and supports expanded settlement building in Palestinian-claimed occupied territory.
Netanyahu’s current coalition allies have a long history of making statements that are detrimental to minorities, women, LGBTQ people, and Palestinians. They also have strong ties to the West Bank settler movement.
The current minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has previously been found guilty of assisting terrorist organizations and inciting bigotry. Bezalel Smotrich, Netanyahu’s finance minister, reportedly demanded that a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank be “erased,” although he later issued an apology in response to a public outcry.
A Netanyahu spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. With a plan to undermine Israel’s Supreme Court and give his legislative coalition authority over judge nominations, Netanyahu and his allies are moving through with it right now.
Netanyahu claims that the legislation will correct an imbalance that has given Israel’s courts disproportionate power. Critics claim that the changes will weaken the country’s system of checks and balances and give the prime minister too much authority. Furthermore, they assert that if the judicial system is altered, Netanyahu, who is accused of corruption, might be able to avoid prosecution.
