Israel’s Herzog tries to prevent ‘constitutional crisis’ over judicial reforms

Israel’s president warned on Sunday that the country faced an “historic constitutional crisis” over a contested judicial reform plan, and said he was mediating between the relevant parties.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, now in his sixth term, wants to rein in the Supreme Court, which members of his religious-nationalist coalition accuse of overreach and elitism.
Opponents of the plan, who held nationwide protests on Saturday, say it would cripple judicial independence, foster corruption, set back minority rights and deprive Israel’s courts of credibility that helps fend off war-crimes charges abroad.
“We are in the grips of a profound disagreement that is tearing our nation apart. This conflict worries me deeply, as it worries many across Israel and the (Jewish) Diaspora,” President Isaac Herzog said in a statement.