The Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry and the Zionist Fed­er­a­tion of Australia, the rep­res­ent­at­ive roof bodies of the Aus­trali­an Jewish community, have issued this joint statement in light of the announce­ment that the Israeli gov­ern­ment will pause the proposed legis­lat­ive overhaul of Israel’s judicial system.

We welcome the announce­ment and also the announce­ment by Israeli oppos­i­tion leaders that they will engage in nego­ti­ations with the gov­ern­ment.

Our con­sist­ent and strongly-held position is that sub­stan­tial reforms such as these should be under­taken carefully, with as much nego­ti­ation and consensus-building as possible.

We have watched with concern as Israeli society has been riven on this issue. We have been in awe of the hundreds of thousands of Israelis from across the political divide and from many sectors who have come together to protest week after week. We have watched them protest peace­fully, with a deep love of country. We believe the same love for Israel is shared by those who support the judicial overhaul.

We urge all parties and sectors of Israeli society to come together now, out of their shared love of country, to find mutual com­prom­ises, to build consensus and to enact reforms that the over­whelm­ing majority of Israelis will support both now and into the future to sustain the reality of Israel as a demo­crat­ic, Jewish State that respects the rule of law.

Israeli society and its political system have been severely chal­lenged over these past few months, and have demon­strated their strength and resi­li­ence.  Now is the time for each side to acknow­ledge the genuine concerns of the other, and to seek a way forward in a spirit of com­prom­ise.

For further comment:

• Jillian Segal AO, President, Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry, [email protected], 02 – 8353 8500
• Jeremy Leibler, President, Zionist Fed­er­a­tion of Australia, [email protected], 0417 382 387